Trojans Avert Sweep

Four months remain in the college baseball season, so USC wasn’t going to worry too much about losing the first two games of a weekend series against Long Beach State. The sixth-ranked Trojans broke through Sunday, getting a season-high 12 hits in a 12-7 victory at Dedeaux Field.

Coach Mike Gillespie welcomed the output after pitchers Abe Alvarez and Jered Weaver stymied the Trojans in 6-0 and 7-1 victories for Long Beach State (3-3) in the first two games of the series. Before Sunday, USC was batting .231 in three games.

“We felt we really had to play well today,” Gillespie said. “We faced some legitimate pitching this weekend. Those two guys are real, real good.”

In other games involving Southland teams:

* Cal State Fullerton improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1977 with a three-game sweep at Fresno State. Kyle Boyer drove in four runs, including a two-run single in a six-run ninth inning to key a 10-4 victory Sunday.

* UC Riverside (6-1) took two of three home games from Oregon State. First baseman Kevin Mangels homered twice and leads Riverside with four.

* Pepperdine’s Chris Kelly hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Waves a 5-2 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Sunday.

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USC defeated Northwestern and third-seeded Georgia to reach the semifinals of the USTA/ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships for the first time in 25 years. But the sixth-seeded Trojans fell to Florida, 5-1, on Saturday. Duke defeated Florida, 4-3, on Sunday to win the title at Madison, Wis.