1971 University of Southern California Trojans, 53-13 (17-0 PAC-8), PAC-8 champions, College World Series Champions.
 
The USC Trojans entered the 1971 season as the defending national champions and had won 2 of the previous 3 College World Series.   The '71 squad picked up where it had left off, going undefeated (17-0) in the Pac-8 season,  making the Trojans the first-ever team to record an unbeaten conference season. The Trojan pitchers also set a conference record by tossing 38 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.   The team hit its full stride when legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux decided to take a chance by starting a freshman who was attending USC on a football scholarship, a wide receiver named Fred Lynn.  Legend has it that Dedeaux was particularly impressed by the way Lynn hung in during a summer at-bat against an imposing 6'6" fireballing pitcher by the name of Dave Kingman.  With Lynn (.327, 6 HR in 96 AB) sparking the offense for the second half of the season, the Trojans easily won the conference and the Pac-8 Playoffs, then moved on to the District 8 Playoffs at Santa Clara. The host Broncos won the first game, but USC won the next two to earn a trip to Omaha for the 25th anniversary of the CWS. 
  

1971 USC Trojans with the CWS Championship Trophy

As they had done in previous tournaments, USC had to overcome an early defeat. Following a 5-1 victory over Seton Hall, the Trojans suffered an 8-3 loss against Southern Illinois. But the Trojans rebounded quickly with an 8-6 win over BYU and an 8-4 beating of Tulsa. In a rematch with Tulsa, USC avoided defeat as righthanded starter Mark Sogge lifted himself out of trouble. With the bases loaded in the eighth inning, his pickoff started a double play, keeping the score tied at 2-2. Sogge also singled home the game-winning run in the ninth for a 3-2 victory. In the championship game, second baseman Frank Alfano and catcher Craig Perkins hit back-to-back homers over the left-field fence in the seventh inning of a 7-2 win over Southern Illinois, avenging the earlier loss to the Salukis. With the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, Dedeaux stuck with his starter, staff ace Steve Busby (10-1, 1.81 ERA), who struck out the final batter to cap his complete-game victory.  Freshman outfielder Lynn hit .467 (7-for-15) in the CWS with a home run.  The victory gave the Trojans their third NCAA crown in the last four years and their second straight, becoming only the second team in the history of the tournament to win back-to back championships (Texas was the first in 1949-50).