Friday, April 25
Los Angeles, CA
6:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
30-11, 14-5
7
vs
6
Penn State
25-15, 12-10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Penn State
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
6
4
2
UCLA
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
7
7
1
Mulivai Levu
Photo by: Luke Bourgeois
No. 15 UCLA Walks Off Penn State in Thrilling Friday Night Win, 7-6
April 25, 2025 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – Trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth after squandering a three-run lead in the top half, No. 15 UCLA found its hero in Mulivai Levu. Levu ripped a ground ball to second base and beat out a potential double-play ball, allowing the winning run to cross home plate to lift the Bruins to a thrilling 7-6 victory in Friday night's series opener against Penn State.
UCLA (30-11, 14-5 Big Ten) took the lead in the bottom of the first inning and maintained it until the ninth frame. Penn State (25-15, 12-10 Big Ten) then rallied in improbable fashion, scoring four runs in the top of the ninth to take a one-run advantage.
Blake Balsz led off the UCLA ninth by smoking a line drive that struck the pitcher, and then advanced to second on a throwing error to represent the tying run. Aidan Espinoza then stepped to the plate and worked a walk in his pinch-hit opportunity to put the winning run aboard.
This brought leadoff hitter Dean West to the plate, and he delivered with a flare that dropped in front of the left fielder before skipping past him, allowing the tying run to score. The Nittany Lions elected to intentionally walk Roch Cholowsky, who had already homered in his 2-for-4 day, setting the stage for Levu.
Levu battled in a two-strike count before hitting a scorching grounder to the second baseman, who made a diving stab. Rushed by the sprinting Levu, the shortstop made an errant throw to first base, allowing the winning run to score and giving UCLA its first Friday night win since April 1.
The Bruins' pitching staff limited Penn State to just four hits, but were hampered by 10 walks and two hit-by-pitches in the contest.
CJ Bott, Chris Grothues, and August Souza impressed in their relief outings, combining for 3.2 innings of scoreless ball while surrendering just one hit.
The Nittany Lions capitalized on a pair of walks in the first frame to build a 2-0 lead.
UCLA answered with a pair of two-run homers in the bottom half of the frame to snatch the lead. Cholowsky's blast clattered off the camera well in center field, scoring West who led off the inning with a walk. After Roman Martin drew a free pass, AJ Salgado followed by smacking a home run off the hitting facility in right-center field to give the Bruins a two-run advantage.
Grant Gray came up with an incredible grab in the top of the third, leaping to rob Penn State of a home run at the right-field wall.
Cholowsky led off the bottom of the eighth with UCLA's first hit since the fourth inning. After advancing to second when Mulivai Levu was hit by a pitch, the shortstop stole third and later scored on Salgado's RBI ground out.
Salagdo racked up three RBIs in his 1-for-4 performance.
The Bruins return to Jackie Robinson Stadium tomorrow at 2 p.m. for game two of the series. Michael Barnett is scheduled to get the start for UCLA on the mound. The games will be available to watch on B1G+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hawk, Easton (1-1)
L: DeMell, Ben (4-2)
Batting:
RBI: Kling, Paxton 1 ; Porter, Jack 2 ; Jaconski, Jesse 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Weingartner, Ryan 1 ; Kling, Paxton 2 ; Porter, Jack 1 ; Voss, Nate 1 ; Maloney, Matt 1
SB: Kling, Paxton 2 ; Porter, Jack 1 ; Jaconski, Jesse 1
HBP: Kling, Paxton 1 ; Voss, Nate 1
Batting:
HR: Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; Salgado, AJ 1
RBI: Cholowsky, Roch 2 ; Levu, Mulivai 1 ; Salgado, AJ 3
Base Running:
RUNS: West, Dean 1 ; Cholowsky, Roch 2 ; Martin, Roman 1 ; Salgado, AJ 1 ; Bythewood, Toussaint 1 ; de Groot, Logan 1
SB: Cholowsky, Roch 1
HBP: Levu, Mulivai 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
C
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RHP
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LHP
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1B
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RHP
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