USC gets win over UCLA at Dodger Stadium

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A crowd of 11,680 was at Dodger Stadium on Sunday to watch UCLA and USC play in the Dodgertown Classic, and the Trojans came away with a 2-0 victory.

Closer Chad Smith struck out UCLA’s Dean Espy with the bases loaded in the eighth, ending the Bruins’ lone scoring threat. Both teams finished with four hits.

Logan Odom pitched the first 7 1/3 innings and picked up the victory for USC. UCLA freshman Adam Plutko took the loss despite striking out eight in six innings. Ricky Oropesa and Adam Landecker drove in the Trojans’ runs with singles.

USC improved to 5-10, while UCLA dropped to 8-6. The schools meet again March 25 at USC for the start of a three-game series that also opens Pacific 10 Conference play.

‘This team is trying to get over the hump of losing a lot of close games,’ USC Coach Frank Cruz said. ‘To be able to win a game like this against a quality team like UCLA is important for their confidence.’

-- Eric Sondheimer