Entering Saturday’s Game 2 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional against North Carolina, the USC baseball offense was absolutely on fire. The Trojans had scored seven or more runs in each of their past five games, winning each contest by at least four.
On Saturday, however, USC finally met its match in North Carolina ace Jason DeCaro. Suddenly, the team that seemingly could not stop scoring over the prior five game couldn’t score at all.
With UNC’s season on the line, DeCaro threw a complete game shutout. The Trojans managed just two hits and did not get a single runner to second base as they suffered a 4-0 loss to even the super regional at one game apiece.
DeCaro’s performance further highlighted why USC’s remarkable comeback in Game 1 on Friday was so critical. Had the Trojans lost that game, they would have gone into Saturday needing to beat North Carolina’s ace in order to keep their season alive. By winning the first game, however, USC gave itself some breathing room, with Andy Stankiewicz’s team only needing to win one of the final two contests to advance.
Now, the Trojans’ season once again comes down to one game. USC and North Carolina will face off in a decisive Game 3 on Sunday. The winner will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, while the loser’s season will be over.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: North Carolina’s Jason DeCaro shuts down USC baseball offense
