On Sunday, the USC baseball team suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 walk-off loss to North Carolina in Game 3 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional. With the defeat, the Trojans’ season came to an end.
The game ended on a walk-off RBI double by Notth Carolina outfielder Owen Hull. On the pitch prior, USC pitcher Chase Herrell got Hull to hit a pop up into foul territory that should have been the third out of the inning. However, both third baseman Maddox Riske and left fielder Walter Urbon were unable to make the catch, giving Hull another chance.
On the next pitch, Hull hit a fly ball to deep center field. While it certainly was a tough play, either Urbon or center fielder Kevin Takeuchi potentially should have been in position to make the catch. However, neither was able to get to the ball in time and it dropped, sending North Carolina to Omaha and USC home for the summer.
Those two defensive miscues will haunt the Trojans for quite some time. While USC may very well have lost the game in extra innings anyway, the Trojans blew an opportunity to give their offense another shot at taking the lead.
The final inning of Sunday’s game illustrated just how tight the margins can be in sports sometimes. A few feet here or a split second there can often be the difference between elation and heartbreak.
This time, unfortunately, the Trojans found themselves on the wrong side of things. The ninth inning of Sunday’s game will forever be remembered in North Carolina circles. While it may not be quite Vince Young level of heartbreak, Sunday’s ending will live in the nightmares of USC’s players and fans for years to come.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Ninth inning defensive miscues against North Carolina will haunt USC
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire | USA TODAY Network
