Pickoff Picks Up USC, 8-3

Rik Currier picked the perfect time for a pickoff play.

The USC right-hander, having given up two first-inning runs in the Trojans’ NCAA regional opener Friday against Virginia Tech, heard a few choice words from Coach Mike Gillespie on the mound after issuing a walk and surrendering a single to start the second.

Currier responded by picking off Nick Perlozzo at second base and then settled down to lead the Trojans to an 8-3 victory before 2,020 at Cal State Fullerton.

Top-seeded USC (39-18) will play Loyola-Marymount (40-17), a 6-4 winner Friday over Cal State Fullerton, today at 4:30 p.m. Virginia Tech (34-24-2) will play Fullerton (36-20) in an elimination game at 1:30.

The winner of today’s first game will play the loser of the second game in an elimination game at 7:30 p.m.

Currier (13-3), a junior right-hander from Mission Viejo, gave up three runs and seven hits in eight innings. He struck out seven and walked three.

But it was the pickoff that changed the course of the game.

“I thought I was gone [when Gillespie visited the mound],” Currier said. “The pickoff play was a definite momentum changer.”

After the pickoff, Currier retired six consecutive batters and gave up only two singles before Kevin Bice hit a solo home run in the sixth to pull the Hokies to within 6-3. Currier retired seven of the next eight before giving way to Tim Petke in the ninth.

USC, which has won 11 games in a row, had 15 hits, stole six bases and did not commit an error.

“After that [pickoff] they did so many things well,” Virginia Tech Coach Chuck Hartman said. “They played great baseball to put us away.”

Freshman first baseman Alberto Concepcion’s two-run homer in the bottom of the second against Hokie starter Jason Bush (9-6) tied the score, 2-2. The Trojans took the lead for good one out later on Seth Davidson’s sacrifice fly to center that drove in Brian Barre from third.

Davidson, a junior shortstop, hit a two-run homer in the fourth to give the Trojans a 6-2 lead, and had a run-scoring single in the eighth to make it 8-3.

Senior third baseman Justin Gemoll had three doubles and scored twice, sophomore outfielder Barre had three hits and scored three runs, and freshman second baseman Anthony Lunetta drove in two runs with sacrifice flies to center.

In the night game, Loyola’s Billy Traber struck out three batters after the Titans had loaded the bases with none out in the fifth inning, then held them to one run in the ninth after they again loaded the bases with no outs.

Traber (10-4) and Fullerton’s Adam Johnson (7-4) each struck out 13, but Johnson was doomed by five runs he gave up in the first three innings. Each pitcher gave up nine hits in nine innings.