| Baseball |
|---|
| Sacramento — 9 |
| UCLA — 6 |
After grinding out back-to-back wins earlier this weekend, UCLA finally ran out of room for error Sunday afternoon, as a combination of early mistakes and a five-run third inning put the Bruins in a hole they were simply unable to climb out of.
No. 1 UCLA baseball (39–4, 21-0 Big Ten) fell 9–6 to Sacramento State (20-25, 5-4 Western Athletic) in the series finale at Jackie Robinson Stadium, surrendering a season-high nine runs in a sloppy performance that marked the program’s first win over a No. 1 team in Hornets history.
Head coach John Savage had pointed to the team’s string of close games following Saturday’s win, noting the Bruins were “playing a lot of close games” against Minnesota, Hawaii and Sacramento State. Sunday, however, that margin finally gave way.
The Bruins’ issues surfaced early.
After taking a 1–0 lead in the second inning on an RBI single from sophomore catcher Kasen Khansarinia, UCLA’s momentum quickly unraveled in the third.
Sacramento State erupted for five runs in the frame, capitalizing on walks and defensive lapses, including a misplay on a throw to junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky that allowed a runner to advance to third base and extend the inning.
The five-run inning matched the most runs UCLA has allowed in a single frame this season.
Starting junior pitcher Landon Stump took his first loss of the year, allowing five runs across three innings while issuing three walks.
UCLA did attempt to chip away at the lead.
Redshirt junior right fielder Payton Brennan helped create offense with his legs, reaching base and later scoring in both the second and fourth innings. Freshman second baseman Aiden Aguayo added a sacrifice fly to cut into the deficit. Cholowsky continued his standout season at the plate, launching a solo home run in the fifth (his 16th of the year) to bring UCLA within striking distance.
But defensive miscues and missed opportunities continued to haunt the Bruins.
Sacramento State extended its lead in the sixth and broke the game open again in the seventh, scoring three more runs, including one that came on a throwing error, to stretch the advantage to 9–3.
Despite the deficit, UCLA made one final push.
Cholowsky delivered again in the seventh, crushing his second home run of the day, a three-run shot to center, to cut the lead to 9–6 and give the Bruins life. Cholowsky finished with two home runs and four RBIs, accounting for the majority of UCLA’s offense.
The Bruins totaled 12 hits, but were unable to complete the comeback over the final two innings as Sacramento State’s pitching staff held firm late.
The Bruins, now 39-4, will turn their attention to a midweek matchup on April 28, 4:35 p.m. PT at UC Santa Barbara, looking to regroup after their most uncharacteristic performances of the season.
