UCLA first baseman Mulivai Levu starred for the Bruins, going 3-for-4 with a walk, two doubles and four RBIs—including a momentum-shifting bases-clearing double in the fourth inning that put UCLA up for good. Levu also scored once and reached base five times, proving to be a thorn in USC’s side all evening.
The Bruins jumped ahead early, scoring in the first on a Dean West single and again in the second via a solo home run by AJ Salgado. USC answered in the third, tying the game 2–2 on a two-run double by first baseman Adrian Lopez.
But UCLA’s offense roared back in the fourth with four runs, highlighted by singles from Payton Brennan and Cashel Dugger before Levu’s crucial three-run double to left field made it 6–2.
USC refused to go quietly. The Trojans chipped away with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and added another in the seventh, narrowing the margin to 7–5. In the ninth, USC mounted one final push. Lopez led off with a double and later scored on a two-out single by Jack Basseer, cutting the deficit to one.
With the tying run on first, UCLA reliever Easton Hawk kept his composure and induced a game-ending groundout, sealing the hard-fought win and earning the save.
The Bruins will look to carry this momentum against USC on Saturday May, 3.
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Featured Image Photographed by Catherine Rodriguez/BruinLife
