USC fumbles in extra-inning loss after Mason Edwards first to 100 strike outs
No. 12 The USC Trojans drop the series opener to Nebraska in extra innings disaster.
USC Catcher, Augie Lopez (5) at bat during an NCAA baseball against UCLA on April 4th, 2026 at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. The No. 12 USC Trojans could not survive the Nebraska Cornhuskers' late-game push in an 8-7 loss, Friday night.
The Trojans had a 7-2 lead going into the eighth inning, following another dominant performance from Mason Edwards. He posted a final stat line of 12 strike outs and two runs in seven innings, his eighth double-digit strike out game of the season. Edwards became the first pitcher in Division I to reach 100 strike outs on the season, also the first USC pitcher to reach this number since Ian Kennedy in 2006.
But the tides shifted following his departure. The Trojans introduced Gavin Lauridsen out of the bullpen in the eighth inning, which prompted Cornhusker Jett Buck to knock a double to left center. After a Will Jesske walk, Joshua Overbeek mashed a three-run home run to right center to cut the USC lead to two.
The inning continued with a base hit from Rhett Stokes and a walk from Mac Moyer, which led to a USC pitching change that brought in Trojan closer Adam Troy to finish the inning. The USC offense was firing on all cylinders in the several innings before, but failed to gain insurance runs in the ninth. As the Cornhuskers took the plate for a last-ditch effort to overthrow their Big Ten competitors, the Trojans' collapse began to show.