On a sun-kissed afternoon in Los Angeles, Mulivai Levu delivered a perfect three-for-three performance at the plate, adding a walk, two RBIs and two runs to lead UCLA to a series-clinching win over Indiana. The sophomore first baseman shined throughout the past two games and capped off his sublime weekend with another excellent performance on Sunday.
In the final match of a three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium, UCLA (18-5, 7-2) took down Indiana (13-11, 5-4) with an emphatic 6-3 win. After falling short on Friday evening, the Bruins illustrated their toughness, rebounding with statement wins on Saturday and Sunday to clinch the series 2-1.
The momentum from Saturday night’s win carried over into Sunday’s match, as the Bruins’ offense was cooking from the very start. In the first inning, Roch Cholowsky roped a double to center that was followed up by Levu’s RBI single down the left-field line. Shortly after, Payton Brennan hit an RBI single to shortstop that allowed Levu to score, giving UCLA an early 2-0 lead.
In the subsequent inning, Dean West scored the Bruins’ third run off a sac fly to center from Levu.c Even so, the Hoosiers managed to stay in the fight, preventing UCLA from adding any more runs over the following five innings and keeping the game within reach.
In the top of the fourth, Indiana broke onto the scoreboard as first baseman Jake Hanley scored on an RBI fielder’s choice from shortstop Tyler Cerny, cutting the Bruins’ lead to 3-1. Additionally, the Hoosiers further trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the top of the eighth with an RBI single to right from Hanley.
In the bottom of the eighth, UCLA pulled away with a 6-2 lead thanks to Roman Martin’s dual RBIs and a sac fly from Jarrod Hocking, but Indiana did not back down as Cerny hit a threatening solo dinger to left in the top of the ninth. Still, the Bruins kept their composure and closed out the inning, securing a 6-3 win.
UCLA has one more home game against LMU on March 25 before heading to West Lafayette, Indiana to take on Purdue in another three-game series.
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Featured Image Photographed by Aidan Sun/Daily Bruin
