It was an imperfect game, but Arkansas remained perfect as a team Friday night.
The No. 12 Razorbacks rallied from a three-run deficit to defeat Southern Cal 8-6 in front of 994 at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.
Arkansas (5-0) won the series and will go for the three-game sweep Saturday at 8 p.m.
The Razorbacks scored two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to regain the lead after falling behind 4-1 in the third.
"With six innings to play we didn't panic," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. "I thought offensively we kept doing just enough. We'd take a walk, we stole some bases....We left some runners out there but we had three or four really big two-out hits.
"I'm just really proud of the team fighting back to win."
Casey Martin's two-run home run that landed well past the wall in left field gave the Razorbacks the lead for good at 5-4 in the fifth inning. It was Martin's first home run of the season.
"Casey got all of that one," Van Horn said. "I think the only issue was whether it was going to stay fair or not. A lot of times when you hit them that hard and that far they'll hook, and it hooked a little bit, but it went way out of here. It was a big swing for us."
Christian Franklin added a two-run opposite-field double with two outs in the sixth to extend the lead to 7-4.
USC (2-3) pulled within 7-6 on CJ Stubbs' two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the inning ended when Stubbs was thrown out trying to steal third base.
The Trojans had an opportunity to tie the game when Chase Bushor and Blake Sabol had back-to-back singles to lead off the eighth inning, but Arkansas pitcher Kevin Kopps induced a 5-3 double play and an inning-ending groundout in the span of four pitches to get out of the jam.
Pitching in a game for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery 17 months ago, Kopps threw 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
"He came in and did a great job," Van Horn said. "I'm really excited for him because he can be a big part of our pitching staff."
After Arkansas squandered a runner at third base with one out in the seventh and eighth innings, Jack Kenley came through with an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Kenley's two-out RBI single scored Curtis Washington Jr. from second base. Washington was pinch running for Jordan McFarland, who reached on a one-out single.
Kenley also had a two-run triple with two outs in the fourth to pull the Razorbacks within 4-3.
"He played great defense and got two really big hits," Van Horn said. "Both of those hits were huge two-out hits that one of them got us within one, and then in the ninth it doubled our lead. The difference between a one-run lead and a two-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth on the road is huge.
"It's great to see him swinging the bat so well. We've seen it in practices, seen it in the scrimmages a lot and now he's taking it to the field this year so far."
Matt Cronin retired all three batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth to earn his second save in two nights. Cronin threw only 11 pitches.
Starter Isaiah Campbell earned his second win despite some struggles. Campbell allowed four hits and had a throwing error in the Trojans' four-run third inning, but only one run was earned. Arkansas right fielder Heston Kjerstad also had an error when he overran an RBI single by Matthew Acosta, which allowed John Thomas to score from first base.
Campbell, a redshirt junior right hander, pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed 3 earned runs (6 total) on 6 hits and 2 walks. Campbell struck out five.
"It was really good to see Campbell come back after giving up a few runs in the third," Van Horn said. "He came back and gave us two quality innings that helped us really save our bullpen."
USC starter Kyle Hurt allowed 5 earned runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings, and took his first loss of the season.
Arkansas had a season-high five stolen bases in five attempts. Franklin had two stolen bases, and Martin, Washington and Trevor Ezell had one apiece. The Razorbacks are 8-for-9 in stolen base attempts in the series.
The Trojans were 0-for-2 in stolen base attempts Friday. Arkansas catcher Casey Opitz threw out Thomas trying to steal second base in the fifth inning and Stubbs trying to steal third in the sixth.