After he had thrown his final pitch, escaping the only jam he faced in seven superb innings, Mason Edwards needed a little longer than usual to reach the dugout.
There was a long line of USC teammates waiting to greet him.
It was another night worth celebrating for the Trojans’ ace, whose dominance has been one of the enduring storylines of his team’s sparkling season.
The junior left-hander’s latest gem carried No. 21 USC to a 5-1 victory over Rutgers on Friday at Dedeaux Field in the opener of a three-game series.
After taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Edwards finally gave up a hit — and a run. But his sterling pitching line — he tallied 13 strikeouts along with the three hits and two walks he allowed — served further notice that he’s the guy the Trojans (35-12 overall, 17-8 Big Ten) will want on the mound in their biggest games.
“The young man has worked his tail off to make himself into a front-line guy,” USC coach Andy Stankiewicz said, “so we’re excited about the way he’s developed.”
Having notched double digits in strikeouts in eight of his nine conference starts, Edwards has set a Big Ten single-season record with 101 strikeouts in conference games.
“Obviously, that’s cool,” Edwards said when informed of the record, “but the more important thing is having a good season and winning with the team.”
Using an aggressive approach, Edwards (7-0) lowered his ERA a few ticks to 1.74 while helping his team notch its fourth consecutive conference victory and fifth win in its last six games.
“My game plan going in was fill [the strike zone] up and make sure I don’t go too deep in counts and walk a lot of guys and have to get myself out of jams,” Edwards said, “so I think that worked well for me tonight.”
Rutgers (22-24, 9-13) managed only two baserunners through the first five innings — one coming on a walk and the other on a wild pitch after a strikeout.
Edwards’ bid for a no-hitter ended with one out in the sixth when Jack Sweeney rocketed a line drive past shortstop Maddox Riske for a single. After Edwards struck out the next batter for the second out, he couldn’t get out of the inning unscathed.
Gabriel Rivera hit a double that rolled to the wall in right-center field, scoring Sweeney to cut the Scarlet Knights’ deficit to 2-1.
In the seventh, Edwards recorded two outs before finding trouble. He gave up a single and walked the next batter before striking out Yomar Carreras on three pitches.
After Edwards received his teammates’ congratulations on the way to the dugout, USC reliever Andrew Johnson pitched two perfect innings.
What it means
USC continued to dazzle at its renovated home field, where it has gone 26-1 this season after spending the last two seasons at alternate “home” venues.
The Trojans would love nothing more than to host an NCAA Tournament regional at the 2,500-seat stadium where they’ve mowed down almost everyone.
That would require continuing to pile up wins through the Big Ten Tournament to become one of the 16 teams designated as hosts.
Turning point
After stranding a runner at second base in both the third and fourth innings, the Trojans broke through in the fifth off Rutgers starter Zack Konstantinovsky (3-5).
Isaac Cadena hit a popup that fell in left-center field after the left fielder and shortstop converged on the ball but couldn’t make the catch.
Maximo Martinez then ripped a single to left-center to score the game’s first run. After moving to second base on a fielder’s choice, Martinez scored on Abbrie Covarrubias’ single through the right side of the infield to make it 2-0.
Did you see that?
The Trojans stole four bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, including a delayed steal of home plate by Covarrubias on the back end of a double steal.
MVP
Edwards was particularly dominant early in the game.
He struck out four batters in the second inning after one reached on a wild pitch and tallied 10 strikeouts through five innings.
Up next
USC’s series against Rutgers continues at 2 p.m. Saturday, with the finale scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.