WSU baseball (17-22) is set to host the USC Trojans (20-18) for a three-game series in Pullman, starting on Friday at 6 p.m. This will be the first and only regular matchup between the Cougs and the Trojans this year.

WSU’s record all-time against the Trojans is 24-37-1. The last game was May 16, 2021, when the Cougars won 13-2 in Los Angeles, Calif. WSU has a 15-14 home record and a 9-23-1 away record against USC. 

WSU is coming off a dramatic 6-5 victory over the No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs. WSU showed up late, with Jacob McKeon and Elijah Hainline leading the Cougs in clutch situations. WSU is currently on a three-game winning streak, including two wins against No. 10 Oregon.

USC is coming off a 13-7 victory over UCSB Tuesday. They also won one game against the Utah Utes just before taking on the Gauchos. USC currently sits in last place in the conference with a 5-13 record against Pac-12 opponents, while WSU sits in ninth place with a 7-14 conference record. 

Rhylan Thomas, Tyresse Turner and Adrian Colon-Rosado lead the Trojans at the plate. Thomas has 57 hits on 155 at-bats for an average of .368. Thomas also has 18 RBIs and two home runs. 

Turner has 47 hits on 144 at-bats for a batting average of .326. He also has 22 RBIs and three homers for the Trojans. 

Colon-Rosado has 46 hits on 140 plate appearances for a batting average of .329. He also has a team-leading 32 RBIs and is second on the team with eight home runs. 

Pitching for the Trojans is led by Charlie Hurley, Tyler Stromsborg and Jaden Agassi. Hurley has logged 53 innings pitched and has produced 30 strikeouts for an ERA of 2.55. 

Stromsborg has 50 innings pitched with 34 strikeouts for an ERA of 4.68. 

Agassi has 43 innings pitched for the Trojans with 26 strikeouts for an ERA of 4.81. Agassi is a sophomore and is the son of tennis legend and former No. 1 player in the world, Andre Agassi. His mother is also former world No. 1 tennis player Steffi Graf. 

WSU needs to get the scoring started early against a struggling USC team. The Cougs got off to a shaky start to the season but are playing some of their best baseball as of late. Notable wins against ranked teams have helped boost their season resume heading into the conference tournament just a little less than a month away.