The liftoff began from the ground.
USC’s baseball team assembled in its Dedeaux Field basement locker room, in front of a television that blared the 2014 NCAA tournament pairings. Coach Dan Hubbs and his staff didn’t know whether the Trojans were in and out. Youth, of course, isn’t as realistic.
The 16 regional fields came and went. Then the players finally saw USC’s name. On the “First Four Out” list.
“We didn’t make it and, oh, by the way, here’s how close you were,” Hubbs said Wednesday in his office before a Trojans practice. “For them it was a punch in the gut.