COLLEGE STATION, Texas — USC baseball forced a winner-take-all regional final with a 14-3 victory over Texas A&M on Sunday night at the College Station Regional.
The Trojans will face the Aggies again Monday, with the winner advancing to the Super Regional round against North Carolina.
USC, facing elimination for a third consecutive game, scored four runs in the first inning. Kevin Takeuchi and Andrew Lamb each drove in runs as the Trojans took a 4-1 lead.
USC added three runs in the third inning on Lamb’s three-run home run to make it 7-1. Augie Lopez hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 9-1.
The Trojans scored two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth.
USC right-hander Andrew Johnson allowed three runs in 7⅓ innings. Johnson made the start one day after throwing 21 pitches in 1⅔ innings of relief and finished with a career-high 124 pitches.
Johnson allowed a solo home run in the first inning, then threw three consecutive scoreless innings. He allowed single runs in the fifth and eighth before leaving the game. Johnson stranded six Texas A&M runners, walked one and struck out four to earn the win.