Mason Edwards went 8-1 with 103 strikeouts in 55 innings as a senior at Palisades High in 2023.
Photo: STEVE GALLUZZO
By STEVE GALLUZZO
CTN Contributor
The USC baseball team is off to a hot start and so is former Palisades High School pitcher Mason Edwards.
Through March 17, the 6-foot-2 junior left-hander was 4-0 in five starts with a 0.30 earned run average, allowing six hits and only one earned run while recording 52 strikeouts in 30 innings for the 12-time national champion Trojans, winners in 20 of their first 21 games.
Edwards got the start on opening day February 13 against Pepperdine and was credited with the win, allowing one hit and zero runs with three strikeouts and zero walks. In his next outing he did not give up a hit and struck out 11 in six innings against Rice.
He had 11 more strikeouts in a six-inning outing against Illinois on March 6. Seven days later he upped his record to 4-0 at Northwestern, giving up three hits and one run with 10 strikeouts in six innings.
Lack of run support led to a no-decision in USC’s 6-0, 11-inning victory at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on February 27 despite Edwards enjoying his best outing. He threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts in seven innings before reliever Sax Matson came on in the eighth in a scoreless game.
Edwards, a two-time pitcher of the year and two-time All-City first-team selection under head coach Mike Voelkel at Palisades, recorded a 1.20 earned run average with 102 strikeouts in 64.1 innings as a junior then posted a 1.15 earned run average with 103 strikeouts in 55 innings as a senior in 2023 when the Dolphins went 26-4 and reached the City Open Division semifinals.
Making 24 appearances on the mound in his Dolphins career, Edwards had a record of 14-5 with 205 strikeouts. On Feb. 1, 2023, he signed his letter of intent during a ceremony in the Pali High gym alongside two of his teammates—outfielder Amari Yolas (CSUN) and shortstop Wesley Wells (Claremont McKenna).
Joining the Trojans in 2024, Edwards appeared in 20 games, including four starts, and struck out 53 batters in 37.2 innings as a freshman. In his sophomore campaign last spring he appeared in 12 games (starting five) with a 3.86 earned run average and 46 strikeouts in 32.2 innings.
As long as we’re talking about Palisades kids and college baseball pitchers, how about Truman Pauley? He’s now a senior starter at Harvard University and signed a professional contract with the White Sox organization. Truman grew up on El Medio ave and went to Windward school.