| Baseball |
|---|
| UCSB — 4 |
| UCLA — 0 |
A historic, program-setting record 27-game win streak.
Gone just like that.
On Tuesday night, after failing to get past UCSB’s (23-11, 10-5 Big West) dominant pitching staff, UCLA baseball (33-3, 18-0 Big Ten) suffered a heartbreaking 4-0 shutout loss, marking the first time they have fallen short since Feb. 24 against SDSU.
What makes the heartbreak sting even more is that UCLA’s pitching staff shone bright, but the Gauchos’ staff shone brighter, all while the Bruins’ dominant offense could not bring in even a single run to even the odds with the Gauchos.
Though the Bruins looked like they may have gotten in some runs during the first inning, they were robbed of scoring even a single run because of great plays by the Gauchos’ outfield, specifically robbing what would have likely been a hit resulting in multiple RBIs.
However, there were things about this game that were bigger than baseball. Tuesday night’s game kicked off the Jackie Robinson series, which saw the Bruins all wear the number 42 on their backs to commemorate the barrier-breaking legacy of Jackie Robinson.
Prior to the game, Robinson’s granddaughter, Sonya Robinson, threw out the first pitch and delivered a Jackie Robinson Bruins jersey to the Gauchos as a way of extending the gift of Jackie Robinson’s legacy.
UCLA’s head coach, John Savage, loved the atmosphere brought to Jackie Robinson Stadium through the celebration: “I thought it was pretty cool for how exciting the atmosphere was … the atmosphere was outstanding.”
Tonight’s starting pitcher, freshman right-hander Angel Cervantes, had a final statline of 3.0 IP, three hits, one walk, two earned runs and three strikeouts.
Despite getting roughed up in the first inning and allowing two runs in the third, Savage said in a postgame interview that “I really liked Angel. I thought he was really good, I thought he was sharp. He started to really mature and throw pitches out of the zone … he’s really making strides.”
Another bright spot in Tuesday night’s game was junior right-handed pitcher Cal Randall, who topped 101 miles per hour, being one of three pitchers in the NCAA to achieve this feat during the 2026 season.
Pitching in the seventh inning, Randall got himself into a jam by allowing two walks and a single through the right side of the infield, loading the bases. Thankfully, Randall was able to make his way out of the jam by striking out the remaining two Gaucho batters to end the inning, stranding all of their baserunners.
When asked about what happened in creating and subsequently escaping the jam, Randall responded with “I was definitely just finding myself … staying through the zone … just had a little bit of a spurt there where I wasn’t and I realized that I needed to adjust quickly. Getting out of that jam was mandatory.”
UCLA’s historic winning streak ending in this fashion was definitely difficult for the Bruins — but this one loss will not decide how the Bruins perform going forward.
As the famous quotation goes, “Somehow, life goes on!” In this case, “Somehow, the season continues!”
UCLA will look to create another ridiculous winning streak as they play the Minnesota April 17 at 7 p.m. PST at home.
