USC’s Caden Aoki delivers epic performance in Trojans’ season finale
The USC baseball season ended on Saturday night in Scottsdale. The Trojans lost to the Arizona Wildcats, 4-3, on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning. The team didn’t get what it wanted, but the Trojans will not forget what Caden Aoki did on the mound at the very last Pac-12 Baseball Tournament.
Aoki was pitching in a championship game, and he was asked to do so on three days’ rest. It was a huge moment, and Aoki was operating at a disadvantage, given that Arizona starter Cam Walty was pitching on extended rest. Walty pitched really well, and he kept Arizona in the game, but Aoki outdueled his counterpart with a tremendous performance. The USC starter threw 6 1/3 no-hit innings before a seeing-eye ground ball — a roller through the infield — broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning. Aoki was lifted after throwing his 96th pitch. He emptied the fuel tank and gave USC everything he had. Aoki put USC in position to win, and even though the Trojans couldn’t finish the game off, Aoki’s display was an all-time-great moment. It deserved a better conclusion, but it stands on its own as a clutch display of toughness under great pressure.
Caden Aoki won a lot of fans on Saturday night in the desert.
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