After winning its first two NCAA Tournament games, USC baseball entered Sunday on the cusp of its first super regional appearance in nearly two decades. With a victory over old Pac-12 foe Oregon State Sunday night, the Trojans would win the Corvallis Regional and head to the tournament’s second weekend for the first time since 2006.

Instead, however, USC suffered a humiliating blowout loss. The Beavers dominated the Trojans 14-1, setting up a winner-take-all game to decide the regional on Monday.

Things went awry from the start for the Trojans. After Brayden Dowd led off the first inning with a single, Ethan Hedges hit a double. Dowd was sent home by the third base coach despite there being no outs in the inning. Dowd was thrown out at the plate, and the Trojans did not score in the frame.

The very next inning, Oregon State was helped significantly by poor defense from USC. Everything the Trojans did so well in their tournament opener against TCU on Friday, they essentially threw out the window. They did the complete opposite in this game and allowed the contest to spiral out of control. Oregon State built a 6-1 lead with some line-drive singles, but also a number of infield hits USC fielders did not handle as well as they could have.

The game’s other turning point came in the fifth inning. Trailing 6-1, USC loaded the bases with no one out, a golden opportunity to get back in the game. Instead, however, the next three Trojans batters all struck out, and they did not get a single run across. The very next inning, Oregon State hit a three-run home run to go up 9-1, and the rout was on.

The two teams will now play a decisive winner-take-all game on Monday. The winner will move on to the super regionals to face Florida State, while the loser will go home. First pitch from Corvallis is set for 3 p.m. Pacific time on ESPNU and ESPN+.

CORVALLIS — The top-seeded Oregon State Beavers play the fourth-seeded Saint Mary’s Gaels Sunday afternoon in an elimination game at the Corvallis Regional at Goss Stadium.

First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.

(Follow the game live here)

It’s the first outing of a double-header that will see the winner advance to face No. 3 seed USC on Sunday night. The Trojans are 2-0 in the double-elimination event and sit one win away from reaching the super regionals.

If the OSU-Saint Mary’s winner defeats USC in Sunday’s nightcap, the teams would meet again on Monday in a winner-take-all finale.

After suffering an opening-round upset against Saint Mary’s, the Beavers vowed to fight back and “do something special” … and they backed up the pledge in their first elimination game, defeating TCU 7-2 on Saturday to keep their season alive.

Freshman right-hander Dax Whitney was electric and the Beavers’ offense slugged four home runs in the win. Afterward, Saint Mary’s suffered a 6-4 defeat to USC, setting up today’s losers’ bracket rematch.

Here are details about the first game of Sunday’s double-header:

Oregon State Beavers (42-13-1) vs. Saint Mary’s Gaels (36-25)

When: 3 p.m. PT, Sunday, June 1

Where: Goss Stadium, Corvallis

TV channel: The game will not be broadcast on television, but will stream live on ESPN+.

How to watch live stream online: The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ via a subscription. Visit osubeavers.com and click on the baseball schedule for a direct link or visit plus.espn.com for subscription information.

Radio: All games air on the Beaver Sports Network. Pregame starts 30 minutes before the first pitch and you can listen live anywhere via the Varsity Radio Network. Local affiliates include KEJO 93.7-FM & 1240-AM (Corvallis), KKNX 105.1-FM & 840-AM (Eugene), KCFM 104.1-FM & 1250-AM & 104.1-FM (Florence), KLAD 104.3-FM & 960-AM (Klamath Falls), KCFM 103.1-FM (Mapleton), KTMT 96.1-FM & 580-AM (Medford), KCMX 880-AM (Medford), KCMX 99.5-FM (Phoenix), KEX 1190-AM (Portland), KSKR 1490-AM (Roseburg) and KBZY 1490-AM (Salem).

Probable starters: TBA

This and that: Neither team has announced its starting pitcher, but the Beavers are expected to go with sophomore Ethan Kleinschmit, who was their Sunday starter all season. The 6-foot-3 left-hander has been OSU’s most consistent starter this year, going 7-3 with a 3.84 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings. And Kleinschmit is coming off one of his best performances, a one-hit, seven-strikeout gem against Long Beach State in the regular-season finale. … Wilson Weber, Trent Caraway, AJ Singer and Tyce Peterson bashed home runs for OSU in Saturday’s elimination game. It was the fourth time this season the Beavers have hit four or more homers in a game and it pushed their season total to 89, tied for the second-highest single-season total with the 2023 club. The Beavers hit a school-record 118 in 2024. … Caraway has belted a home run in each of the first two games of the regional and in three of his last four games. The sophomore third baseman hit six during the regular season. … Gavin Turley enters the game with 179 RBIs in his career, tied with Michael Conforto for the most in program history. … The Gaels have been carried all season by the strength of their lineup — not their pitching — and the depth of their staff will be tested today. Saint Mary’s likely will start right-hander Lukas Sarantos, who is 3-0 with a 5.40 ERA this season. He’s made 15 appearances, including seven starts. … The Gaels’ staff ERA is 6.17.

OSU’s projected starting lineup

1. Easton Talt, RF

2. Aiva Arquette, SS

3. Gavin Turley, LF

4. Wilson Weber, C

5. AJ Singer, 2B

6. Canon Reeder, CF

7. Trent Caraway, 3B

8. Tyce Peterson, 1B

9. Dallas Macias, DH

Saint Mary’s projected starting lineup

1. Eddie Madrigal, 1B

2. Cody Kashimoto, 2B

3. Aiden Taurek, LF

4. Ryan Pierce, 3B

5. Brian Duroff, DH

6. Diego Castellanos, RF

7. Jared Mettam, SS

8. Ian Armstrong, C

9. Tanner, Griffith, CF

— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | @freemanjoe.bsky.social | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.

The Oregon Ducks are in the heat of the recruiting cycle for the class of 2026, with commits landing at schools across the country by the day. The Ducks are in the hunt for one of the most coveted safeties in the country, five-star Jett Washington. Washington is a top recruit and will visit four Power Four schools that will each try and sway him to come play for their team.

Washington, who stands at 6-5, anchored one of the best high school defenses in the country during his time with Bishop Gorman. Washington was awarded the MaxPreps Nevada Player of the Year and won the 5A state title with Bishop Gorman while compiling 38 tackles, 5 interceptions, and a forced fumble.

He is one of the most highly coveted players in the class of 2026. He still has official visits planned with Ohio State, Alabama, and Oregon, according to 247 Sports, and the No.1 recruit in Nevada has recently scheduled a visit with USC. Washington has ties to California; his uncle was the late Kobe Bryant, a five-time NBA champion.

Washington is set to visit Tuscaloosa and Alabama coach Karen Deboer on May 30, then he will turn around and fly to Los Angeles to meet with the USC coaching staff. Washington has a trip planned to Ohio State on June 6.

His final official visit of this cycle will be one week after his trip to Ohio State when he travels to Eugene to meet with Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks. Oregon having the last official visit can only be good news for Ducks fans, as Lanning will most likely have the last impression on the No.1 recruit out of Nevada.

Washington has already been to Eugene once and had good things to say about his trip. Washington had this to say to On3 when asked about his visit.

“My last visit to Oregon was great. It is a great program and they are recruiting me as hard as anyone. coach Hampton is a great coach, coach Lanning has the program going up and I liked it a lot when I was up there,” Washington told On3.

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Oregon has had talented safeties since Lanning has been at the helm with former Duck Tysheem Johnson playing a big role in his final two seasons with the Ducks. Just last year, safety Kobe Savage played a large role in Oregon’s defense. Lanning seems to have struck gold at the safety position again this season, grabbing Dillon Thieneman out of the transfer portal from Purdue.

Washington committing to Oregon by the end of the summer would be much needed good news for Oregon fans. It has been a surprising recruiting cycle for Ducks fans, with much to be pleased about but a sour taste is still in the mouth due to five-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene flipping from Oregon to Washington, and the Ducks losing out on both five-star quarterback Jared Curtis and five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell.