No. 1 UCLA Plays Midweek Game at UC Irvine

Tuesday, March 31

Irvine, CA

6:00 PM (PT)

UCLA

UC Irvine

Payton Brennan

Photo by: Mac Brown

No. 1 UCLA Plays Midweek Game at UC Irvine

March 30, 2026 | Baseball

UCLA's Game Notes (PDF)Information Guide Media Center Watch (ESPN+)Live Stats

LOS ANGELES - The No.1-ranked UCLA baseball team will play a midweek contest at UC Irvine on Tuesday, March 31 at Cicerone Field. The game will be available for viewing on ESPN+. Fans can also follow along with live stats (StatBroadcast) and X/Twitter updates (@UCLABaseball).

GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Cicerone Field
Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com

THE RUNDOWN

UCLA entered the season as the preseason No. 1 ranked team (D1Baseball.com and Baseball America)
UCLA is the consensus No. 1 team in the country as it is ranked No. 1 by all prominent outlets (D1B, BA, USAT, PG, NCBWA)
UCLA is off to its best start to a season (25-2) since 2010 when the Bruins opened the year 22-0
UCLA's 19-game winning streak is the longest active streak in Division I and the second-longest in program history
The Bruins' 12-0 start to Big Ten play marks their best league start in program history
UCLA has out-scored its opponents 188-61 during the winning streak
UCLA has earned seven wins via the run-rule this season, including six during the 19-game win streak
The Bruins swept Ohio State, Michigan, Maryland, and Iowa for three straight Big Ten sweeps to open conference play
The Bruins are ranked second in the nation for hit-by-pitches with 75 on the season, Dean West leads the team with 14
UCLA is ranked 10th in the nation for on-base percentage with a mark of .443
Logan Reddemann is one of three pitchers in the country with seven wins
In the sweep over Michigan, the UCLA pitching staff held its opposition scoreless in 24 of 27 innings
UCLA starting pitchers combined for 16.0 IP, 2 ER, and 19 strikeouts in the weekend sweep over Michigan
UCLA scored 40 runs in the OSU sweep, its most in any series since 2023 and its most in a conference series since 2022
The Bruins captured the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Championship after a perfect 3-0 weekend
Will Gasparino was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series
Mulivai Levu leads the team in hitting, posting a .378 average with seven home runs and 36 RBIs
Wylan Moss has allowed just one earned run through 26.0 innings, striking out 35 batters
Moss was recently named to the National Pitcher of the Year Watch List by the College Baseball Foundation
The Bruins have six victories over ranked opponents
UCLA made its sixth appearance at the CWS and fourth under Head Coach John Savage in 2025
The Bruins returned to the postseason for the 15th time in the last 21 seasons
UCLA won eight of its 10 conference series to earn a share of the Big Ten Conference regular season title
Roch Cholowsky was named Big Ten Player of the Year, the league's defensive player of the year, and received a First Team nod
UCLA's 48 wins are its most since 2019 and fifth-most in program history
HC John Savage secured his fifth conference championship at UCLA in 2025
Six different Bruins received All-Conference honors: Cholowsky (1st), Levu, Barnett, Martin, Salgado (2nd), and Moss (FT)
The program has earned 16 winning records in 21 seasons under HC John Savage
UCLA won 13 of its 15 weekend series last season and won every series played at Jackie Robinson Stadium
UCLA went 31-7 at Jackie Robinson Stadium last season
UCLA collected five weekend sweeps, including four during Big Ten play in 2025
Cholowsky was named Player of the Year and a First Team All-American by four outlets (ABCA/Rawlings, BA, D1B, PG)
Cholowsky also won the Brooks Wallace Award, honoring him as the nation's top shortstop
According to data compiled by 643 charts, Cholowsky led the nation in wins-above-replacement (WAR) at 6.49 in 2025
Cholowsky's 23 home runs was the most by a Bruin since 2000 (Forrest Johnson)
Mulivai Levu ranked second in the nation and led the Big Ten with 85 RBIs in his sophomore campaign
Levu and Cholowsky have combined for the most RBIs (159) by a UCLA duo since 1997
In 2023, the Bruins welcomed the top signing class in the country
The Bruins were picked to finish first in the Big Ten Preseason Poll
Transfer pitcher Logan Reddemann (San Diego) and Will Gasparino (Texas) headline the incoming transfer portal class

WEEKEND RECAP
No. 1 UCLA dominated its weekend set against Maryland, sweeping the Terrapins behind three explosive offensive showings and steady pitching. The Bruins opened the series with a 12-2 run-rule win highlighted by Cashel Dugger's first-inning grand slam and a six-run seventh, then followed with an 8-3 victory on Saturday powered by Payton Brennan's three-run homer and 3.2 scoreless relief innings from Wylan Moss. UCLA finished the job on Sunday with a 14-4 run-rule triumph, jumping out early behind Roman Martin's two-run triple and piling on with multi-hit efforts from Mulivai Levu, Dean West, and Roch Cholowsky. Across the three games, UCLA outscored Maryland 34-9, extended its winning streak to 15, and remained perfect in Big Ten play at 9-0, which marks the best conference start in program history.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday, March 31 - 6 p.m. PT
UCLA – Fr. RHP Angel Cervantes (1-0, 6.06 ERA)
UCI – RS Fr. LHP Dane Grant (0-0, 2.40 ERA)

ABOUT THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine enters 2026 with one of the most dominant and experienced pitching staffs in the country, returning nearly every key arm from a 43 win season, including ace Ricky Ojeda and weekend starters Trevor Hansen and Ryder Brooks. The bullpen is stacked with veteran right-handers, giving the Anteaters unmatched depth on the mound. The biggest question is whether the offense can replace the significant power production lost from last year's lineup, though returners like James Castagnola, Frankie Carney, and several part-time contributors provide a foundation, and newcomers such as Tommy Farmer and Daniel Polasek offer upside. With elite pitching, improved defense, and an offense that simply needs to hold its own, UC Irvine is positioned once again to contend at the top of the Big West and make another deep postseason push.

INSIDE THE WINNING STREAK
UCLA is currently riding a 19-game winning streak that started on Feb. 27 with a win over No. 20 Tennessee. This currently stands as the longest active winning streak in Division I baseball. The Bruins went on to defeat two more SEC opponents (No. 23 Texas A&M and No. 4 Mississippi State) at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, before sweeping through their first four Big Ten Conference series. UCLA has outscored its opponents 188-61 during the streak. Mulivai Levu has led the offense with a .364 average including six home runs and 25 RBIs. On the mound, Wylan Moss has kept a 0.47 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 19.1 innings of work. The Bruins are averaging 9.9 runs-per-game over the last 19 contests. This marks UCLA's second-longest winning streak in program history. In 2010, the Bruins opened the season 22-0.

MAGNIFICENT MOSS
Sophomore right-hander Wylan Moss was named to the National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List by the College Baseball Foundation. Moss has been nothing short of dominant to open the 2026 campaign, allowing just one earned run across 26.0 innings while piling up 35 strikeouts against six walks. He owns a 0.35 ERA and is holding opponents to a .180 average. His signature outing came in UCLA's win over No. 7 TCU, where he delivered four scoreless innings to earn the save and recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts, including an astonishing nine straight to end the game, with eight swinging.

THE GREAT GASPARINO
Will Gasparino was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series after a blistering weekend in Arlington, going 5-for-11 with four home runs while leading UCLA to a perfect 3-0 showing against ranked opponents. The Los Angeles native delivered his third multi homer game of the season in a 12-5 win over No. 20 Tennessee, added another blast in the victory over No. 23 Texas A&M, and capped his dominant run with yet another homer in the extra innings thriller against No. 4 Mississippi State.

RETURNING PRODUCTION
In an era of college baseball defined by heavy transfer-portal movement, UCLA has taken a different path by retaining its core talent and reaping the rewards. No program in Division I returns more production for 2026, with the Bruins bringing back an impressive 83 percent of their overall output. That includes 85 percent of last season's plate appearances and 78 percent of the innings pitched, giving UCLA one of the most stable and experienced rosters in the country.

BRUINS' PRESEASON BUZZ
UCLA baseball placed two standouts on Baseball America's Preseason All-America teams. Junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky was selected as the outlet's preseason Player of the Year in addition to his First Team nod. Junior first baseman Mulivai Levu secured a spot on the Third Team. Cholowsky enters 2026 as one of the nation's premier players after assembling one of the most accomplished individual seasons in UCLA history. Levu returns as one of the conference's most productive run producers after a breakout 2025 season. Cholowsky and Levu were also named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. UCLA has now seen 19 total players named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List, with Cody Schrier being the Bruins' last inclusion in 2023. Logan Reddemann was recognized on D1Baseball's Preseason Pitcher of the Year Watch List while newcomers Angel Cervantes and Dominic Cadiz were featured on the outlet's Preseason Freshman of the Year Watch List.