USC baseball seemed extremely likely to make the NCAA Tournament a week and a half ago. However, we never did say the Trojans were a lock. We only said they were getting very, very close and that it would be hard to miss the postseason. Now, USC is very much a bubble team. In a stunning reversal of fortune, the Trojans have lost five of six. USC lost 3-1 on Friday to Washington in Seattle. The Trojans are going in the wrong direction at the wrong time.
USC’s pitching has wobbled in important moments, but the Trojans’ struggles are primarily a matter of the bats not getting timely hits. The Trojans have scored just one run in their last 15 innings. Washington has bottled up the Trojans in two consecutive wins over USC on Thursday and Friday. A team which had been rolling in late April now can’t relax at the plate and deliver in big situations.
The Trojans’ RPI has dipped from 29 to 45. USC is very much in a position where a few more losses could throw the Men of Troy out of the Big Dance. Missing the tournament this year would be an absolute disaster. USC hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament in a decade. Getting there is and always has been the primary goal for this season. It rightly is the basis for assessing this team and this campaign. It is the “pass or fail” measurement for the Trojans.
USC finishes its three-game set at Washington on Saturday before moving to the Big Ten Tournament next week.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC baseball has fallen onto the NCAA Tournament bubble with yet another loss
Reporting by Matt Zemek / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
