The Trojans didn't even make the postseason this year in baseball, but they did experience some movement in the record books.
This year's title was won by Fresno State, being called by many the biggest underdog to win an NCAA championship -- in any sport. The Bulldogs scored 62 runs over the course of the College World Series, tying USC's record from exactly a decade ago. Until yesterday, the Trojans were also tied for second most runs in a CWS with 54 in 1995.
Also, Fresno's Steve Detwiler slugged two homers last night. The last person to do that in a championship series was USC's Robb Gorr in 1998 when the Trojans downed Arizona State, 21-14.
USC baseball was on the skids against top local competition earlier in the season but has seen a marked improvement, with a number of big wins against ranked teams. There are a lot of talented teams in Southern California, so that may explain why it took a little time. Here are some interesting stats from Heritage Hall:
- According to BoydsWorld.com, USC has the sixth-toughest schedule in the nation.... For USC’s 34 games this season, 20 have been against top 25 opponents; the Trojans are in the midst of nine straight games against top 25 teams.
- This season, USC has played 20 games against ranked opponents, with the Trojans posting an 8-12 record in those games. After starting the season with an 0-7 mark against ranked teams, USC is 8-5 since then.
Also, here's what's up with Trojans in the majors:
- Brian Bannister (2000-03) was named A.L. Co-Player of the Week on April 14 after posting two victories for Kansas City. Bannister is 3-0 on the season with a 0.86 ERA.
- Chad Moeller (1994-96) was called up by the New York Yankees on April 14 to help with their catching depth.
- Moeller caught for another Trojan, Ian Kennedy (2004-06), while Morgan Ensberg (1995-98) played third base in the Yankees’ 8-7 win.
 I'm surprised that it's not being marketed this way, but USC has a great Tuesday lineup.
Spring football kicks off at 4 p.m. on Howard Jones Field.
On the adjacent Dedeaux Field, the baseball team will face Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. As a special promotion, El Cholo tacos will be sold for $1.
Just a hunch, but they can probably sell more tacos to football fans than baseball fans.
Ian Kennedy rocketed from USC to the bigs last year, almost missing his own wedding in the process. Today he's pitching against Minnesota in Grapefruit League action, looking to cement a spot in the Yankees' starting rotation. He's part of a trio expected to be New York's future on the mound.
Women's Basketball - Nadia Parker had 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Women of Troy shut down UCLA 49-36. It was a historic low point total for the Bruins and half of their season average. It was USC's seventh straight win over UCLA ... USC is in sole possession of fourth place in the Pac-10 and could be a dark horse candidate for the NCAA tournament.
Women's Water Polo - USC opened up MPSF play with wins over No. 10 UC Irvine and No. 8 Arizona State. Michelle Stein was named the league's player of the week after scoring seven goals on the road trip.
Women's Swimming and Diving - In its last dual meet of the season, No. 25 USC beat No. 15 UCLA, 158-142.
Baseball - The Trojans open the season on Friday with a three-game series at Florida International.
Men's Tennis - No. 6 USC fell to No. 7 Texas at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Seattle over the weekend.
Women's Tennis - Coming off two losses, No. 11 USC cruised to a 7-0 victory over No. 52 San Diego.
Men's Volleyball - USC continued its oddly symmetrical league play last week, beating UC San Diego and losing to Long Beach State. The Trojans take a break from MPSF this weekend and instead will play in the Hall of Fame Classic in Springfield, Mass.
Lexus Gauntlet - It's all but over. USC leads 50 to 17.5, and it takes 55 points to clinch at least a split title. This will continue the odd tradition USC and UCLA alternating wins of the annual trophy. It's oddly like men's volleyball.
Women's Volleyball - USC took down UCLA over the weekend to even the season series. The Women of Troy are still undefeated at home since the opening match loss last year and are 3rd in the Pac-10 and ranked 6th nationally ... The win was coach Mick Haley's 700th as a D-1 women's coach and 100th in the Pac-10 (all league wins have been at USC).
Men's Tennis - The team of Robert Farah and Kaes Van't Hof were runners up in ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championships, losing to top seed Virginia in the finals. The loss ended an eight-game winning streak. The pair is 13-3 on the year.
Women's Soccer - The Trojans beat Arizona, 3-1, and Arizona State, 1-0, at home this weekend. They're #4 nationally and #2 in the Pac-10, finishing undefeated at home for first time since 1995.
Baseball - The Cardinal and Gold series was extended to three games last week. The squad is now off until February ... Eric Chavez of the A's won a Gold Glove. He was a USC commit several years ago, but turned pro at the 11th hour.
Men's Golf - After two days USC was tied for 2nd overall, 10 shots overall behind UCLA, at CordeValle. Rory Hie fell from 7th to 2nd. Play continues Wednesday ... Jamie Lovemark is struggling due to illness.
Swimming and Diving - USC hosted the Trojan Diving Invitational over the weekend. Four divers qualified for Zone Championships pre-qualifier for nationals.
Women's Tennis - Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu made it to the consolation quarter finals of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championships. The team is done until January.
Lexus Gauntlet - The USC-UCLA rivalry series is tied, 12.5-12.5, thanks to the women's volleyball victory -- and despite a couple rough outings against the Bruins the weekend before by women's soccer and men's water polo.
The baseball team's Cardinal and Gold series has been moved up and will be played today (Wednesday) and tomorrow (Thursday). Both games are at 3 p.m.
Original post here.
[UPDATE: THE CARDINAL AND GOLD SERIES HAS BEEN MOVED UP. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.]
They say baseball season is like a marathon, but maybe it's more like an ultra-marathon. The MLB World Series just ended and USC is already ramping up its pre-preseason events ...
- The Cardinal and Gold Series, an intrasquad scrimmage comprising two games, takes place this week at Dedeaux Field. Opening pitch is Thursday, Nov. 1 at 3 p.m., followed by a second game on Friday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. Both are free and open to the public ... The series mark the end of fall practice. The team will regroup February and start the season later that month. A full schedule is available here.
- Head Coach Chad Kreuter will speak at Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel on Thursday, Nov. 1, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The first 200 baseball fans who RSVP get free admission, food, drinks and maybe even a couple of rounds of golf. Kreuter will discuss the 2008 season and the Trojan Baseball Classic Golf Tournament -- then he'll raffle away a couple of free entries. RSVP by 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 (that's today) to (213) 740-2733.
- The Sonora Cafe Hot Stove League is a speaker series that provides fans an intimate encounter with key figures in baseball history. Pete Rose will be at the first one on Nov. 5. At $500, it's not cheap, but seating is limited to 55 guests and the package includes three events. Proceeds will be put toward new facilities being built for the school's baseball team. More information is available on USC's website.
- USC's next recruiting class will be announced on Nov. 14.
- The aforementioned golf tournament fundraiser will be at Dove Canyon Country Club on Nov. 19. For more information or to register, click here.
Women's Soccer - Amy Rodriguez is tougher than you. After cracking her head into another player in a 3-0 win over Cal last week, a doctor stapled an inch-long gash back together so she could continue playing. Not stitched. Stapled. Two days later, she scored a header in the final minutes to tie top-ranked Stanford, 1-1, in Palo Alto ... The Trojans' big weekend earned them a #2 ranking in Soccer Buzz, and #5 in Soccer Times and Soccer America (which didn't even have USC ranked to start the season) ... Lauren Brown was named to the SoccerBuzz
Elite Team of the Week ... The Women of Troy invade Westwood on Friday to take on UCLA. The crosstown showdown could be one of the best games of the year. The Bruins are now ranked #1 in all four major polls, and the last three games betweens these teams went into overtime.
Women's Volleyball - USC earned a split on the road last week, beating Washington State, 3-1, but getting swept by Washington. At 17-3 (6-3 in conference), the Trojans are two games behind the Huskies and Stanford in the Pac-10. They fell from 4th to 6th in the national rankings (Washington was 5th) ... There are nine games left in the Pac-10 season. The next three will be at home.
Men's Water Polo - USC continued to roll, though allowed more scoring than usual. Last week they took down UC Santa Barbara by a score of 14-10, the first time the Trojans have allowed double digits since Oct. 7, 2006. The Trojans also continued to spread their own scoring around, with 10 different players hitting the back of the net ... The top-ranked and undefeated Trojans jump in the pool with UCLA on Sunday. USC has a four-game winning streak against their crosstown rival, each by a single goal.
Men's Golf - USC placed third in a field of 18 at the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate Invitational in Florida, which wrapped on Tuesday. Sophomore Jamie Lovemark was second overall.
Women's Swimming and Diving - Football wasn't the only sport with a good weekend in South Bend. The #13 Women of Troy sunk #17 Notre Dame in the water. They were led by Golden Goggle nominee Rebecca Soni, who won three races and broke two pool records.
Men's Swimming and Diving - The 15th ranked men's team got in the pool for the first time this year and had no problem dispatching #22 Notre Dame. Vanni Mangoni won three events and the Trojans had multiple 1-2-3 finishes.
Women's Cross Country - Senior captain Laura Meyers was the fastest woman at the Titan Invitational in Fullerton, leading USC to a second place finish overall. It was the fourth consecutive first place by a Trojan ... Several of USC's top runners sat out in preparation for the Pac-10 Championships being held this weekend at Oregon State.
Women's Tennis - In a successful ITA West Regionals, USC's Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu took home the doubles title, qualifying them for the national indoor championships in November. Fink also made the semifinals in individual play.
Men's Tennis - Call it a double-double. The men also took the ITA West Regional doubles title this weekend with the tandem of Robert Farah and Kae Van't Hof.
Baseball - This season's schedule is out. Two of the games are against Irvine. The Anteaters are coached by former Trojan skipper Mike Gillespie, who also happens to be the father-in-law of current USC coach Chad Kreuter. That's almost as awkward as the whole Brady Quinn's sister thing.
Women's Soccer - The Women of Troy earned their highest ranking ever, landing at 3rd in Soccer Buzz and 6th in Soccer America ... After taking a week off, the Women of Troy got back in action last week by defeating Oregon, 1-0, and Oregon State, 5-0 ... With the two complete-game shutouts, Kristen Olsen was named Pac-10 player of the week. She's the first Trojan to win that honor in two years ... Nini Loucks suffered a knee injury and had an MRI today. She could be the fourth defender lost for the season. USC leads the league in shutouts even without the services of Meagan Holmes, Kat Stolpa and Laura McKee.
Men's Water Polo - The Trojans piled up four wins this weekend to take the SoCal Championship for 5th straight year, just weeks after capturing another NorCal Championship. They're now 12-0 and a unanimous #1 in the nation ... Shae Buckner was named the MPSF player of the week thanks to his 8 goals (including 2 in the semifinal over UCLA and 4 in the final against Stanford).
Women's Volleyball - The fourth-ranked Women of Troy also swept the Oregon schools on the hardcourt last week. They breezed to 3-0 victories over both Oregon and Oregon State, including a season-high 16 blocks against the Ducks ... Diana Copenhagen is still week-to-week ... Setter Taylor Carico's shots to the opposing left sideline (instead of setting and different than a sneak or dump) have been dubbed "310 Kills" after her Manhattan Beach area code.
Women's Swimming and Diving - The 14th-ranked Trojans easily took down Oregon State in the first dual meet of the season ... Both the men's and women's teams travel to Notre Dame this Friday. If you happen to be in South Bend early, you can cheer them on.
Baseball - Rehashing a note from last week ... Don't think you can get anything for free at a Mercedes dealership? Head Coach Chad Kreuter will be speaking at Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel on Thursday, Nov. 1, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The first 200 baseball fans who RSVP get free admission, food, drinks and maybe even a couple of rounds of golf. Kreuter will discuss the 2008 season and the Trojan Baseball Classic Golf Tournament -- then he'll raffle away a couple of free entries. RSVP by Oct. 30 to (213) 740-2733.
Basketball - Both the men and women started regular practice this week ... Gary Parrish ranked the men 17th headed into the season and had some pointed comments about Mayo and Hackett ... ESPN's Insider looks at the men's team in their free preview.
It's been a busy football week, but a belated roundup means we get some late-breaking good news from the links.
Women's Tennis - USC had a huge week at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational. The team picked up its first tournament win of the year, beating Arizona State by nine strokes and finishing well ahead of a field of West Coast rivals. Sophomore Belen Mozo came from behind to tie the leader heading into the final round, then won her first collegiate title on a scorecard tiebreaker.
Men's Water Polo - The #1 ranked Trojans beat Stanford in convincing fashion on Saturday. We all know it wasn't on the gridiron -- try the pool. USC men's water polo remained undefeated by shutting out the third-ranked Cardinal in the second half to claim a 7-2 victory. As we've seen all season, scoring was spread around. Five players hit the back of the net ... Goalie Adam Shilling was named MPSF Co-Player of the Week after allowing just two 6-on-5 goals and making 10 saves and two steals ... The team remains a unanimous selection for #1.
Women's Cross Country - Coach Tom Walsh said it could take a couple months for freshman Zsofia Erdelyi to adjust after moving to USC from Hungary. Looks like adjustment time is over. Erdelyi set a course record at the UCSD Triton Invitational, leading the Women of Troy to a second-place finish overall. It's the third consecutive individual victory by a Trojan. The last two were by Sarah Cocco, who was sick and unable to compete in San Diego.
Baseball - Don't think you can get anything for free at a Mercedes dealership? Head Coach Chad Kreuter will be speaking at Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel on Thursday, Nov. 1, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The first 200 baseball fans who RSVP get free admission, food, drinks and maybe even a couple of rounds of golf. Kreuter will discuss the 2008 season and the Trojan Baseball Classic Golf Tournament -- then he'll raffle away a couple of free entries. RSVP by Oct. 30 to (213) 740-2733.
Women's Volleyball - The Women of Troy dropped the first showdown in the Lexus Gauntlet last week, falling at UCLA in their second Pac-10 loss of the year. Ranked one spot ahead of the #5 Bruins, USC fell, 3-1 ... Senior co-captain Diana Copenhagen could be out for a while. She is now listed as week-to-week because of an abdominal strain ... USC will honor Paula Weishoff on "All-Time Great Night" this Thursday at the Galen Center. The ceremony will take place during the match against Oregon State, which begins at 7 p.m.
Men's Tennis - Sophomore Robert Farah made an impressive run at the Polo Ralph Lauren Men's All-American last weekend, becoming the first Trojan to reach the championship match in two decades. He was also the first qualifier to make it that far since 2001. He won the first set against fourth-ranked Travis Helgeson of Georgia before falling, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Women's Basketball - The nation's top recruit two years ago, guard Jacki Gemelos will miss her second straight season due to another surgery on her right knee. She will join incoming high school All-American Stefanie Gilbreath, who also tore her ACL, on the bench this year.
All Things Trojan checked in with USC Pitching Coach Tom House, who is the man in the middle of the baseball program's new Rod Dedeaux Research for Baseball Institute. House pitched for USC when Rod Dedeaux was the Trojans coach. He later played in the big leagues and eventually moved on to coaching. He was hired just before the start of the school year.
Did this new institute have much to do with you returning to USC a couple months ago?
It was the icing on the cake. Obviously I considered it a privilege to be asked to come back and work with Chad Kreuter as his pitching coach. We had a history. He caught for the Texas Rangers when I was with Bobby Valentine down in Arlington, so I knew Chad not only as a person but as a catcher in the big leagues. The bonus was that I wanted to put together a research institute up here in Los Angeles, preferably on campus with USC, that was very similar to what I had going on in San Diego with the National Pitching Association. As luck would have it, things fell in place. Even better was the fact that the medical school and the exercise/physiology school were also interested in doing research. Now we've got the best of three worlds: sports science, baseball science, and medical science under one roof on Dedeaux Field. It doesn't get any better than that.
Compared to the National Pitching Association, how much of an upgrade are these facilities?
It's like a high school gym versus the Galen Center. It was my own business, I'm really proud of it, and it was a strong little research and performance facility. But this is the big leagues. When it comes to a health and performance center, this puts us right up there with Jim Andrews' institute in Pensacola. I don't think there's anything better in the country, and I know on the collegiate level nothing comes close. It's a great opportunity. It's an exciting time for me at this point in my life to combine forces with USC, putting all the research and data that we've had from previous years and moving forward into what I hope is a new era for the 'SC Trojan baseball team.
Can you explain how the 3-D analysis works?
3-D motion analysis technology has been around since probably the mid-80s. There are three or four companies out there that have been giving us the ability to research this and capture data in three dimensions at 1,000 frames per second. Normally the human eye sees about 32 frames per second, so much of what we've been teaching is based on what we think we see. When you're looking at it through the camera's eye at 1,000 frames per second with this technology, it gives you a better read and therefore a better understanding. With a better understanding comes a better teach, and because of that athletes who do have the right instruction will be healthier and obviously perform better just because of the information capture.
Read on »
Now that we're settling into the fall, I'm going to make a concerted effort to schedule certain features more regularly. I'll be shooting for Weekend Roundups (like you see below) to run on Monday night/Tuesday morning. That will allow the dust to settle (injury reports, ranking announcements, etc.) while keeping everybody up to date with results that probably won't be on Sports Center. This edition is late in the week, so there are a couple nods to the coming weekend. I may also experiment with separate posting on weekend previews. Let me know if there's anything you want (or don't want) to see.
I'll exclude football and men's basketball from roundups, since those tend to be covered ad nauseum. If you need to know who won the football game, I've got a feeling you didn't start your search here. That said, I haven't covered hoops very much. That will change quickly.
Of course, special articles and announcements can happen here at any time.
Women's Volleyball - The USC-UCLA rivalry draws first blood of the school year tonight at 7 when the Women of Troy invade Westwood ... After losing its first game of the year to Stanford last Thursday, USC rebounded with victories over Cal on Sunday and UC Irvine on Tuesday ... Jessica Gysin helped lead the Trojans in a come-from-behind against the Anteaters. She's seeing more time due to an abdominal strain suffered by Diana Copenhagen.
Men's Water Polo -The #1 Trojans struggled against #7 Long Beach State last weekend, coming back to win, 9-8, and maintaining their home winning streak. Tommy Corcoran had a career-high four goals ... USC will face an even bigger test on Saturday when it puts its perfect record on the line against #3 Stanford at home.
Women's Soccer - The Women of Troy are enjoying a week off after a big surge last week. They had a fifth consecutive shutout on Friday at Long Beach, then took down Portland, one of the nation's top teams, at home on Sunday ... Amy Rodriguez was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week after getting an assist against Long Beach and the game-winning goal against Portland. Freshman Megan Ohai earned her first national honors by making the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week. She scored against Long Beach and assisted on both goals against Portland ... The women's soccer top 25 rankings shifted almost as much as that "other" football sport. In Soccer Buzz, the Trojans went from 14th to 7th while Portland fell from 3rd to 8th. USC was unranked by Soccer America but jumped to 10th (Cal made a similar jump from unranked to 12th). Top Drawer only upped USC from 24th to 23rd, but smacked Portland from 1st to 10th. NSCAA has the Trojans at 13th. Confused yet?
Baseball - USC announced a number of events this week. The annual golf tournament fundraiser will be at Dove Canyon Country Club on Nov. 19 (for more information or to register, click here) ... Scout Day is Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. ... Fall practice will conclude with the Cardinal and Gold Series at Dedeaux Field at 3 p.m. on Nov. 1 and 2 p.m. on Nov. 2 ... The Alumni Game is Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. (213-740-5762 for more info) ... Check out the posts just before and after this one for more info on the new Rod Dedeaux Research for Baseball Institute.
Women's Tennis - Doubles pair Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu have advanced to the second round of the main draw at the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships. They face Clemson today and could be pitted against UCLA if they make it to Saturday ... In singles action, the nation's #2 seed Lindsey Nelson withdrew due to injury after losing her first set on Thursday. #10 Sarah Fansler lost her match.
Men's Tennis - After three matches on Thursday, Robert Farah is the only Trojan left standing. He advanced in singles play to the third round of the Polo Ralph Lauren Men’s All-American. Kaes Van't Hof lost his singles matchup. The two paired up in doubles action, failling to Alabama.
Women's Golf - Overlooked from last week, #4 USC lost by one stroke to Duke in the NCAA Preview tournament.
USC broke ground this week on a new baseball facility believed to be the first of its kind.
The Rod Dedeaux Research for Baseball Institute will cost an anticipated $1-2 million and should be completed by December. The institute will house several state-of-the art features, including a three-dimensional analysis system that will use high-definition cameras that capture up to 1,000 frames per second. Tom House, who was recently hired as USC's pitching coach, developed many of the concepts and features of the system.
The RDRBI's primary focus will be injury rehabilitation and prevention. The university stresses that it is not a baseball-only facility. By partnering with the school's Medical Center, Kinesiology Department, and Sports Medicine Department, USC is hopeful that the research will have broader implications. "This will give the medical school data that they haven't had access to," said Jason Pommier of USC's Sports Information Department. Other departments and athletes may eventually become involved.
The school will also add a new scoreboard and videoboard prior to the 2008 season -- but don't call it a diamond in the rough. In 2002 the school completed a $4-million stadium renovation. Funding for the RDRBI and the earlier renovations came from private donations. USC has plenty of big-league alumni with deep pockets. Mark Prior gave $250,000 toward Prior Plaza.
All this construction isn't out of left field (except maybe the RDRBI, which will take up 9,000 square feet on the third base side).
Pommier observed that the success of the College World Series has led to more investment in baseball. "Teams have figured out that this could being a revenue sport. You're seeing all these new ballparks being built." Texas just finished a major overhaul, and LSU has broken ground, too. South Carolina is in the midst of a $35.6-million project expected to be finished by the fall of 2008.
USC hopes that this facility won't just be a pretty ballpark, but something cutting edge. This follows similar outside-the-box thinking on campus. The newly built facilities at the Viterbi School of Engineering are home to a degree in video game development.
All Things Trojan will have an interview with Coach Tom House tomorrow.
Artist sketch courtesy USC.
Men's Water Polo - The Trojans started league action this weekend, taking down #5 Pepperdine to extend their home winning streak to 24. They should be #1 in the polls for the fourth week in a row ... When people say USC is deep, they're not talking about the pool. Coach Jovan Vavic has so much talent on his hands that he subs six players at once like an ice hockey line. They're making sure to spread the wealth, too. In each game so far, the team has had a different scoring leader. Eighteen of 22 field players to get in the water have hit the back of the net, and nobody has more than seven goals. One of those players to get on the scoreboard this season is highly touted Trevor Clark, who missed the last two years with injuries. ... Sometimes the stiffest competition is in your own backyard. All of the top 10 schools in men's water polo are in California.
Women's Volleyball - The fourth-ranked Trojans took down both Arizona schools last week to open Pac-10 play. They've started the season 12-0 for the 7th time in team history (four of those seasons ended in a national championship). ... Freshman Geena Urengo (libero) is leading the Pac-10 with 0.52 service aces per game. ... Like men's water polo, women's volleyball is best in the West. All of the Pac-10 had a winning record prior to league play, and the top seven teams are a combined 73-5. ... USC will be honoring two former players this year. Paula Weishoff, a three-time Olympian and MVP of the 1992 Olympic squad, led the Trojans to their third national championship in 1980. She will get special recognition at the match against Oregon State on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.
Women's Soccer - The Women of Troy had a pair of 2-0 wins over the weekend to improve to 6-1-1. Ranked as high as #14, they host the nation's top program (Portland) on Saturday at 1 p.m. ... USC had a heralded recruiting class a couple years ago, but this year's crop may rival them in productivity. The winning goal in all six victories has come from a freshman. ... Three players have played every minute so far: Kristin Olsen, Janessa Currier and Karter Haug. Olsen, the starting goalkeeper, has recorded four consecutive shutouts.
Women's Cross Country - Freshman Sarah Cocco has run in two meets this year -- and won both. The team placed third overall at the Pepperdine Invitational this weekend.
Women's Basketball - The offseason news has been more bitter than sweet for women's hoops. The top recruit in 2006, Jacki Gemelos, missed last season with a knee injury. She reinjured it this month and may miss another year. She'll have it scoped next week. ... Adding insult injury to injury, 2007's top recruit, Stefanie Gilbreath, is also out with an ACL problem. ... These two injuries are compounded by the loss of last season's top three scorers. Jamie Hagiya, Chloe Kerr and Shay Murphy are all headed overseas to play professionally in Greece. Murphy is also one of six Trojans in the WNBA.
Baseball - Former Trojan coach Mike Gillespie is going to coach at UC Irvine. So much for retirement. ... With MLB's regular season wrapping up, Trojan Brian Bannister (now with the Kansas City Royals) is a dark horse for AL Rookie of the Year. He was AL Rookie of the Month in August.
Golf - USC's men finished third at the Fall Preview tournament this weekend. Women's play will end on Wednesday.
 Former USC pitcher Tom House was named the team's assistant baseball coach on Thursday. He played for the Trojans in 1967 before moving on to pitch in 289 big league games with Atlanta, Boston, and Seattle.
Head coach Chad Kreuter expects House's experience to pay off with recruiting. Kreuter also remarked that his final hire for the 2008 season "is a guy that possesses a wealth of pitching knowledge and his expertise in motion analysis will further aid the development of our pitchers and players."
House served as a pitching coach in Houston, San Diego, and Texas before founding the National Pitching Association. As a player, House was known for catching Hank Aaron's 715th home run ball and pictures of him returning it to Aaron are in the MLB Hall of Fame. After his career ended, he was one of the first players to speak out about the abuse and dangers of steroids -- from first-hand experience.
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