USC LEFTY HEADED EAST
USC Lefty Headed East
Published By: Dave Peck
Published On: February 12, 2018
NEWPORT, R.I.- The Gulls are excited to welcome Alex Cornwell, a LHP from the University of Southern California, to Newport for the 2018 season. Cornwell stands at six-foot-two and weighs 175 pounds.
The future Gull was drafted in the 37th Round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Chicago Cubs but decided to accept his offer at USC in order to “learn the game” as reported by the La Cañada Valley Sun. Cornwell’s fastball tops out at 92 MPH, supplemented by a curveball and circle change.
Hailing from La Cañada, Calif., Cornwell played three years of varsity baseball at Maranatha High School. In 2017, Cornwell earned a Rawlings-Perfect Game Honorable Mention despite battling knee pain. "I played with a hurt knee which hurt way more when I pitched with it," Cornwell said. "It was a rough season and it really changed the way I played the game and gave me a different perspective. It was definitely a battle and my goal after was to get rested and healthy."
In spite of his injury, Cornwell went 5-2 over 10 total appearances (nine starts). He struck out 43 batters in 39.2 innings with a 2.29 ERA. The lefty held a 1.96 ERA in 89.1 innings of work throughout his high school career, striking out 89 hitters. Perfect Game ranked Alex in their top 200 players nationally and the third-best southpaw in the Class of 2017 to come out of California.
The Trojans open up their 2018 season on Feb. 16 with a three-game series versus the Utah Valley University Wolverines. Cornwell will face off against many former Gulls and future teammates Robert Fisher III, Mason Hickman, and Jayson Gonzalez when the Vanderbilt Commodores travel to Dedeaux Field for an out-of-conference matchup with USC on March 10.
