| Baseball |
|---|
| Purdue — 3 |
| UCLA — 4 |
Bottom of the ninth, tied game, bases loaded, the Nebraska crowd is cheering for a resolution to the game, junior first baseman Mulivai Levu stepped up to the plate and with a crack of the bat…
No. 1 UCLA baseball (49-6, 28-2 Big Ten) faced off against the Purdue Boilermakers (37-20, 18-12 Big Ten) in their first matchup of the Big Ten tournament in Omaha, Nebraska. The Bruins came off a long break from action, with their last matchup taking place six days prior, a long stretch resulting in some rust for the Bruins.
Thomas Howard started on the mound for the Boilermakers and posted an impressive outing for the redshirt sophomore. Howard pitched five total innings and allowed only two hits and one run while throwing four strikeouts.
For the Bruins, sophomore pitcher Wylan Moss took the mound first and had a shaky performance. In the three innings pitched, Moss gave up three hits and two runs while only throwing one strikeout. Moss would be pulled in the fourth inning.
After two innings filled with strikeouts and flyballs, the Boilermakers finally got on the board in the third inning when third baseman Sam Flores singled to right field, and Brandon Rogers would sprint home to give Purdue the 1-0 lead over the Bruins.
Unfortunately for UCLA, Purdue would score once more in the third inning when right fielder Avery Moore would score off a throwing error by junior catcher Cashel Dugger, trying to pick off Flores at second base, and the ball would be thrown above junior second baseman Phoenix Calls‘ head for the error. Purdue would exit the inning with a 2-0 lead over the Bruins.
After three innings with one hit and no runs scored, the Bruins would finally get on the board in the bottom of the sixth when redshirt junior right fielder Payton Brennan would hit a sacrifice fly ball to right field, which allowed junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky to round home base to cut the lead down to one, UCLA 1 – Purdue 2.
The Boilermakers would immediately respond in the top of the seventh inning when Rogers would hit a solo home run to left field to extend the lead back to two runs, Purdue leading 3-1.
However, from there on out it was all Bruins. In the bottom of the eighth inning, junior third baseman Roman Martin tripled to left center field, and Levu would score. Brennan would then step up to the plate and single to left field, on which Martin would score. The two runs in the eighth inning would tie the game at three runs apiece.
The game would be decided in the bottom of the ninth inning when, after Cholowsky was intentionally walked to load the bases, Levu would step up to the plate. With only one out on the board and the bases loaded, Levu swung to deep right field for the sacrificial fly ball to right field, which allowed the senior pinch hitter Jarrod Hocking to sprint home from third base and walk off the Boilermakers.
The Bruins defeated the Boilermakers 4-3 to advance to the Big Ten tournament semifinals, where UCLA will face their cross-town rivals, the USC Trojans. The Bruins will face the Trojans on May 23 at 12 p.m. in Omaha, Nebraska. The matchup is a back-to-back appearance in the semifinals for UCLA, coming their semifinal victory over Iowa in 2025. The Bruins did not go all the way in the 2025 tournament, losing the championship to Nebraska, a tournament the Bruins will hope not to repeat in 2026.
