Friday, May 9
Urbana-Champaign, IL
4:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
35-14, 0
10
at
9
Illinois
27-20, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UCLA
0
0
2
4
0
0
0
2
2
10
8
0
Illinois
0
2
0
0
7
0
0
0
0
9
10
4
Payton Brennan
Photo by: Illinois Athletics
No. 18 UCLA Completes Comeback Over Illinois, 10-9
May 09, 2025 | Baseball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.ย ย โย Payton Brennan's electrifying steal of home in the ninth inning completed an improbable comeback as No. 18 UCLA stunned Illinois, 10-9, on Friday night at Illinois Field.ย
ย
In a wild contest that featured five lead changes, UCLA (35-14, 18-7 Big Ten) refused to buckle after Illinois' (27-20, 12-13 Big Ten) seven-run fifth inning appeared to shift the momentum.
Dean West and Roman Martin each collected two hits for the Bruins, who erased deficits of 2-0, 9-6, and 9-8 before Brennan's gutsy baserunning sealed the dramatic win. The victory pushed UCLA's winning streak to four games.
ย
Easton Hawk fanned two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to secure his third save of the season.ย ย
ย
Justin Lee (3-0) earned his third win of the campaign after shutting out the Fighting Illini for two consecutive innings in his relief outing. Roch Cholowsky drove in a pair of runs while extending his hitting streak to 13 games.
ย
After both teams were blanked in the opening frame, Illinois seized the momentum in the second inning when Vytas Valincius unloaded a solo blast to break the scoreless tie. Kyle Schupmann followed with a towering shot of his own, giving the Fighting Illini a quick two-run cushion.
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UCLA immediately answered in the top of the third, scoring twice to tie the game. Aidan Espinoza started the rally with a walk before Phoenix Call reached on an error. West sliced an RBI single in the left-center gap, then Cholowsky lifted a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right field to bring the tying run to home plate.
ย
The Bruins took the lead in their next trip to the plate after erupting for four runs on five hits. Martin ignited the rally by hitting a scalding ground ball to the hot corner for an infield base hit. AJ Salgado then worked a full count before roping an RBI double that split the left-center gap. Espinoza's perfectly placed swinging bunt resulted in not just an infield single, but also a throwing error that brought Salgado home.
ย
After Call drew a walk, West and Cholowsky delivered consecutive run-scoring singles to cap UCLA's offensive explosion in the fourth.
ย
The long inning forced Illinois starting pitcher Tyler Schmitt to hurl 40 pitches in the inning, which forced the hosts to make a call to the bullpen.
ย
Illinois seized control in the fifth, exploding for seven runs to regain the lead and stun the Bruins. The devastating rally, highlighted by Collin Jennings' three-run blast, featured six hits. The seven-run outburst equaled UCLA's worst defensive inning of the season.
ย
UCLA mounted a comeback in the eighth, slicing the deficit to one. Brennan sparked the rally with a double down the right-field line before Cashel Dugger worked a walk. After Call's sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, West ripped a hot shot that handcuffed the Illinois first baseman, allowing two runs to score and pulling the Bruins within one.
ย
UCLA staged a dramatic ninth-inning rally to grab the improbable lead. After Martin worked a walk, Brennan followed with a free pass of his own. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Toussaint Bythewood, who tied the game with a clutch RBI groundout.
ย
Brennan's daring baserunning instincts produced the game-winning run. After inching down the third base line following a 3-0 pitch to Call, he pounced when the catcher returned the ball to the mound, darting home and sliding under the tag to thrust UCLA in front.
ย
Hawk slammed the door in the last of the ninth, hanging a zero to get the save and clinch the Friday night win for UCLA.
ย
UCLA will take on Illinois in the middle game of the series tomorrow at 4 p.m. PT (6 p.m. CT). The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
ย
ย
In a wild contest that featured five lead changes, UCLA (35-14, 18-7 Big Ten) refused to buckle after Illinois' (27-20, 12-13 Big Ten) seven-run fifth inning appeared to shift the momentum.
ยWOULD YOU BELIEVE IT!?!?!
โ UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) May 10, 2025
Brennan swipes home and the Bruins ??????????#GoBruins // B1G+ pic.twitter.com/hadZ6wCpQA
Dean West and Roman Martin each collected two hits for the Bruins, who erased deficits of 2-0, 9-6, and 9-8 before Brennan's gutsy baserunning sealed the dramatic win. The victory pushed UCLA's winning streak to four games.
ย
Easton Hawk fanned two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to secure his third save of the season.ย ย
ย
Justin Lee (3-0) earned his third win of the campaign after shutting out the Fighting Illini for two consecutive innings in his relief outing. Roch Cholowsky drove in a pair of runs while extending his hitting streak to 13 games.
ย
After both teams were blanked in the opening frame, Illinois seized the momentum in the second inning when Vytas Valincius unloaded a solo blast to break the scoreless tie. Kyle Schupmann followed with a towering shot of his own, giving the Fighting Illini a quick two-run cushion.
ย
UCLA immediately answered in the top of the third, scoring twice to tie the game. Aidan Espinoza started the rally with a walk before Phoenix Call reached on an error. West sliced an RBI single in the left-center gap, then Cholowsky lifted a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right field to bring the tying run to home plate.
ย
The Bruins took the lead in their next trip to the plate after erupting for four runs on five hits. Martin ignited the rally by hitting a scalding ground ball to the hot corner for an infield base hit. AJ Salgado then worked a full count before roping an RBI double that split the left-center gap. Espinoza's perfectly placed swinging bunt resulted in not just an infield single, but also a throwing error that brought Salgado home.
ย
After Call drew a walk, West and Cholowsky delivered consecutive run-scoring singles to cap UCLA's offensive explosion in the fourth.
ย
The long inning forced Illinois starting pitcher Tyler Schmitt to hurl 40 pitches in the inning, which forced the hosts to make a call to the bullpen.
ย
Illinois seized control in the fifth, exploding for seven runs to regain the lead and stun the Bruins. The devastating rally, highlighted by Collin Jennings' three-run blast, featured six hits. The seven-run outburst equaled UCLA's worst defensive inning of the season.
ย
UCLA mounted a comeback in the eighth, slicing the deficit to one. Brennan sparked the rally with a double down the right-field line before Cashel Dugger worked a walk. After Call's sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, West ripped a hot shot that handcuffed the Illinois first baseman, allowing two runs to score and pulling the Bruins within one.
ย
UCLA staged a dramatic ninth-inning rally to grab the improbable lead. After Martin worked a walk, Brennan followed with a free pass of his own. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Toussaint Bythewood, who tied the game with a clutch RBI groundout.
ย
Brennan's daring baserunning instincts produced the game-winning run. After inching down the third base line following a 3-0 pitch to Call, he pounced when the catcher returned the ball to the mound, darting home and sliding under the tag to thrust UCLA in front.
ย
Hawk slammed the door in the last of the ninth, hanging a zero to get the save and clinch the Friday night win for UCLA.
ย
UCLA will take on Illinois in the middle game of the series tomorrow at 4 p.m. PT (6 p.m. CT). The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
ย
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lee, Justin (3-0)
L: Bates, Zach (1-1)
S: Hawk, Easton (3)
Batting:
2B: Salgado, AJ 1 ; Brennan, Payton 1
RBI: West, Dean 2 ; Cholowsky, Roch 2 ; Salgado, AJ 1 ; Bythewood, Toussaint 1
SH: Call, Phoenix 1
SF: Cholowsky, Roch 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Martin, Roman 1 ; Salgado, AJ 2 ; Brennan, Payton 2 ; Espinoza, Aidan 2 ; Dugger, Cashel 1 ; Call, Phoenix 2
SB: Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; Salgado, AJ 1 ; Brennan, Payton 1
HBP: West, Dean 2 ; Dugger, Cashel 1
Batting:
2B: Chee-Aloy, Cameron 1 ; Valincius, Vytas 1
HR: Jennings, Collin 1 ; Valincius, Vytas 1 ; Schupmann, Kyle 1
RBI: Chee-Aloy, Cameron 2 ; Jennings, Collin 3 ; Valincius, Vytas 1 ; Schupmann, Kyle 1 ; Westcott, Drake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Groves, Nick 1 ; Chee-Aloy, Cameron 1 ; Jennings, Collin 1 ; Valincius, Vytas 2 ; Schupmann, Kyle 2 ; Westcott, Drake 1 ; Quagliano, Coltin 1
SB: Schroeder, Jacob 1
HBP: Groves, Nick 1 ; Schupmann, Kyle 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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OF
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INF
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RHP
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RHP
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