North Dakota junior lefty Zach Muckenhirn threw a three-hit shutout, striking out nine Trojans in a 1-0 upset win at No. 16 USC on Friday night in the season opener. Muckenhirn set down the final 15 batters of the game in earning his second career shutout.
“Wow, biggest win in this program's history,” UND head coach Jeff Dodson said after the victory. “To beat a top 16 ranked team, USC has a great team. But, the story tonight was Muckenhirn. He threw as good as I've ever seen him, throwing three pitches for strikes.”
USC got a runner to third in the bottom of the first inning but never again as Muckenhirn baffled the talented Trojan lineup.