Ethan Hedges cracks 2 solo home runs and USC closes in on super regional berth

CORVALLIS, Oregon (AP) — Ethan Hedges hit two solo home runs and USC defeated Saint Mary’s 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the championship round of the Corvallis Regional.

Hedges gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead with a one-out home run in the bottom of the first inning.

Saint Mary’s went ahead on a two-run home run by Diego Castellanos in the second inning. The Gaels made it 3-1 when Aide Taurek homered to lead off the fourth.

USC tied it in the bottom of the inning when Augie Lopez blasted a two-run homer to right-center field and Hedges’ one-out homer in the fifth gave the Trojans the lead for good.

Richard Tejeda delivered an RBI single in the sixth for a 5-3 lead.

Cody Kashimoto’s sacrifice fly in the eighth got the Gaels within 5-4 but Maximo Martinez got the run back for USC with an RBI-single in the bottom of the inning.

USC’s Caden Hunter pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season. Starter Mason Edwards (3-0) got the win, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings.

John Damozonio (4-3) took the loss for Saint Mary’s (36-25).

USC (37-21) advances to the championship round, a win away from the super regionals. Saint Mary’s will play an elimination game against regional host Oregon State on Sunday with the winner needing to beat USC twice to win the double-elimination regional.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports