Friday, March 21
Los Angeles, CA
6:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
vs
Indiana
Jarrod Hocking
Photo by: Mac Brown
UCLA Hosts Indiana for Three-Game Set
March 20, 2025 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - UCLA baseball will welcome Indiana for a three-game set beginning on Friday, March 21 at 6 p.m. PT, continuing on March 22 at 2 p.m. PT, and concluding on March 23 at 1 p.m. PT. The games will be streamed on B1G+ with Nick Koop and Sid Iyer on the call. Fans can also follow along with live stats (StatBroadcast) and X/Twitter updates (@UCLABaseball).
ย
SERIES INFORMATION
Venue:ย Jackie Robinson Stadium
Stream:ย B1G+
Talent:ย Nick Koop (play-by-play), Sid Iyer (analyst)
Live Stats:ย ucla.statbroadcast.com
ย
THE RUNDOWNย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
WEEKEND RECAPย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA secured its first sweep in the Big Ten era by winning three consecutive contests over Nebraska. Cody Delvecchio delivered his best start of the season in UCLA's 5-3 Friday night win over the Cornhuskers. Payton Brennan enjoyed a big day at the plate, smashing his third homer of the year. In the middle game, AJ Salgado powered the Bruins to an 11-3 victory following his two-homer performance. Michael Barnett dazzled in his first start of the year, racking up a career-high seven strikeouts while notching his league-high fifth win of the season. UCLA completed the three-game sweep after rallying from a 3-0 deficit for its 10th come-from-behind win of the season.
Roch Cholowsky ignited the offense with his solo shot in the fourth, then the Bruins scored two runs in the fifth and a couple more in the sixth to take the contest, 5-3. Jarrod Hocking hit his first home run of the season in the Sunday afternoon win.
ย
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, March 21 - 6 p.m. PTย
UCLA - TBA
IU โ TBA
ย
Saturday, March 22 - 2 p.m. PTย
UCLA - Jr. RHPย Michael Barnettย (5-0, 4.12 ERA)
IU โ Gr. RHP Ben Grable (3-0, 4.50 ERA)
ย
Sunday, March 23 - 1 p.m. PTย
UCLA - TBA
IU โ TBA
ย
ABOUT THE HOOSIERSย
Indiana brings a five-game winning streak to Westwood, including a series sweep over Ohio State in its most recent Big Ten series. The Hoosiers dropped two out of three games to Penn State in their first conference series, but have rebounded to win five consecutive games. Indiana is led by one of the nation's most highly-touted draft prospects, Devin Taylor, who is currently slashing .384/.505/.733 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs. The Bruins and the Hoosiers have faced each other only once before, with the Bruins securing a 6-4 victory back in 1969. This upcoming game marks their first encounter in over half a century.
ย
CARDIAC BRUINSย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA has scored first just six times in its 20 games this season, racking up a total of 10 come-from-behind victories during its 16-4 start to the year. Remarkably, the Bruins have pulled off three comebacks after trailing by five or more runs. Notably, UCLA is undefeated when scoring first, posting a perfect 6-0 record.
DEFENSIVE EXCELLENCEย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA has made significant strides defensively this season, boasting a fielding percentage of .985 over the first 20 games, which places them eighth nationally. This performance is particularly impressive considering the school's record-setting fielding percentage of .982 in 2018, which ranked third in the nation that year.
HE'S A ROCH STARย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
With the Bruins down to their final out and trailing by two runs on Friday night of UCLA's Big Ten debut series, Roch Cholowsky provided the biggest swing of the game, blasting a three-run home run to give UCLA the improbable lead.ย UCLA's shortstop has three go-ahead home runs on the year, as well as a pair of grand slams. Cholowsky has collected 26 RBIs through the first 20 games of the season, smacking seven home runs while slugging .738 on the year.
READY TO ROCHย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky was named to the Perfect Game Preseason All-Big Ten team. Cholowsky is coming off an impressive freshman campaign with a team-leading .308 batting average and eight homers. The Chandler Ariz. native received Second Team Freshman All-American acclaim (Perfect Game) and a Pac-12 Honorable Mention nod. Cholowksy was the lone Bruin to start all 52 games. He was red hot in the closing stages of 2024, slashing .391/.452/.766 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs over the final 16 games of the season. Recently, Cholowsky was named the No.9 shortstop in the country by D1Baseball.com.
BRUINS PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLLย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Big Ten Preseason Poll
1. Oregon
2. Nebraska
3. Indiana
4. UCLA
5. Michigan
6. USC
FRIENDLY CONFINESย ย ย ย ย
With a sweep over Stanford in the final weekend of the 2024 regular season, UCLA clinched its ninth consecutive season with a winning record at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins have had a losing record at home just twice over the last 20 seasons, last occurring in 2014 (11-20).
MIDWEEK NOTESย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCKย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA added 11 newcomers ahead of the 2025 season, including eight freshmen and three transfers. Coach Savage has bolstered his pitching staff with three pitchers joining via the transfer portal. Left-hander Ian May (California) will look to occupy a spot in the starting rotation after logging 20 starts and 90.0 total innings for the Golden Bears. Fellow southpaw Ryan Rissas (UC San Diego) helped lead the Tritons to their first-ever Big West title in 2023. August Souza (Santa Clara) brings 43 appearances worth of experience after spending a total of five seasons (including 2020 Covid-shortened season) at Santa Clara.
ย
ย
SERIES INFORMATION
Venue:ย Jackie Robinson Stadium
Stream:ย B1G+
Talent:ย Nick Koop (play-by-play), Sid Iyer (analyst)
Live Stats:ย ucla.statbroadcast.com
ย
THE RUNDOWNย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
- UCLA secured its first-ever sweep in the Big Ten era by winning three straight games over Nebraska
- UCLA began its eight-game home stand by defeating No. 18 UC Irvine, 11-4
- UCLA has won five straight games, including nine of its last 10 contests
- UCLA is 12-2 at Jackie Robinson Stadium this season
- Roch Cholowsky leads the team in hitting at .338, mashing seven home runs, collecting 26 RBI, and slugging .738
- Mulivai Levu ranks seventh in the Big Ten for RBIs with 27, and Cholowsky ranks ninth with 26
- Blake Balsz has been the team's hottest hitter over the last two weeks, slashing .409/.567/.591 since March 4
- AJ Salgado's posted the first multi-homer game of his career with a pair of three-run bombs on March 15
- Cholowsky hit a grand slam in back-to-back games (Feb. 23 vs. MSU, Feb. 25 vs. Arizona State)
- Cholowsky was hit by a pitch three times on Tuesday, a first for UCLA in over a decade
- Against Michigan, UCLA scored 20 or more runs in a game for the first time since its 23-0 win over Omaha (2/18/23)
- Cholowsky's dramatic three-run homer gave UCLA the lead in the ninth inning on Friday night at Maryland
- Michael Barnett entered the starting rotation and impressed in his first start of the year (5.0 IP, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K)
- Barnett ranks third in the nation with five wins this season
- UCLA ranks eighth in the national defensively with a fielding percentage of .985
- Cholowsky launched a grand slam to spark UCLA's nine-run fourth inning in the comeback win over MSU
- UCLA drew 15 walks against BYU, its most in a game since Feb. 18, 2024
- The Bruins are currently ranked 22nd in the nation for runs scored with 181
- UCLA enters its inaugural season in the Big Ten in 2025
- In 2023, the Bruins welcomed the top signing class in the country
- Roch Cholowsky returns for his sophomore season after receiving Freshman All-American acclaim (Perfect Game)
- The program has posted 15 winning records in 20 seasons under HC John Savage
- Duce Gourson, Cody Schrier, and Luke Jewett were selected in the 2024 MLB Draft
- The Bruins were picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll
- Roch Cholowsky, Cody Delvecchio, and Dean West were named Big Ten Players to Watch
- UCLA is coming off a 19-33 campaign, snapping a streak of seven consecutive winning seasons
- Three transfer pitchers (Ian May - Cal, Ryan Rissas - UCSD, August Souza - Santa Clara) bolster UCLA's pitching staff
WEEKEND RECAPย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA secured its first sweep in the Big Ten era by winning three consecutive contests over Nebraska. Cody Delvecchio delivered his best start of the season in UCLA's 5-3 Friday night win over the Cornhuskers. Payton Brennan enjoyed a big day at the plate, smashing his third homer of the year. In the middle game, AJ Salgado powered the Bruins to an 11-3 victory following his two-homer performance. Michael Barnett dazzled in his first start of the year, racking up a career-high seven strikeouts while notching his league-high fifth win of the season. UCLA completed the three-game sweep after rallying from a 3-0 deficit for its 10th come-from-behind win of the season.
Roch Cholowsky ignited the offense with his solo shot in the fourth, then the Bruins scored two runs in the fifth and a couple more in the sixth to take the contest, 5-3. Jarrod Hocking hit his first home run of the season in the Sunday afternoon win.
ย
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, March 21 - 6 p.m. PTย
UCLA - TBA
IU โ TBA
ย
Saturday, March 22 - 2 p.m. PTย
UCLA - Jr. RHPย Michael Barnettย (5-0, 4.12 ERA)
IU โ Gr. RHP Ben Grable (3-0, 4.50 ERA)
ย
Sunday, March 23 - 1 p.m. PTย
UCLA - TBA
IU โ TBA
ย
ABOUT THE HOOSIERSย
Indiana brings a five-game winning streak to Westwood, including a series sweep over Ohio State in its most recent Big Ten series. The Hoosiers dropped two out of three games to Penn State in their first conference series, but have rebounded to win five consecutive games. Indiana is led by one of the nation's most highly-touted draft prospects, Devin Taylor, who is currently slashing .384/.505/.733 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs. The Bruins and the Hoosiers have faced each other only once before, with the Bruins securing a 6-4 victory back in 1969. This upcoming game marks their first encounter in over half a century.
ย
CARDIAC BRUINSย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA has scored first just six times in its 20 games this season, racking up a total of 10 come-from-behind victories during its 16-4 start to the year. Remarkably, the Bruins have pulled off three comebacks after trailing by five or more runs. Notably, UCLA is undefeated when scoring first, posting a perfect 6-0 record.
DEFENSIVE EXCELLENCEย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA has made significant strides defensively this season, boasting a fielding percentage of .985 over the first 20 games, which places them eighth nationally. This performance is particularly impressive considering the school's record-setting fielding percentage of .982 in 2018, which ranked third in the nation that year.
HE'S A ROCH STARย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
With the Bruins down to their final out and trailing by two runs on Friday night of UCLA's Big Ten debut series, Roch Cholowsky provided the biggest swing of the game, blasting a three-run home run to give UCLA the improbable lead.ย UCLA's shortstop has three go-ahead home runs on the year, as well as a pair of grand slams. Cholowsky has collected 26 RBIs through the first 20 games of the season, smacking seven home runs while slugging .738 on the year.
READY TO ROCHย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky was named to the Perfect Game Preseason All-Big Ten team. Cholowsky is coming off an impressive freshman campaign with a team-leading .308 batting average and eight homers. The Chandler Ariz. native received Second Team Freshman All-American acclaim (Perfect Game) and a Pac-12 Honorable Mention nod. Cholowksy was the lone Bruin to start all 52 games. He was red hot in the closing stages of 2024, slashing .391/.452/.766 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs over the final 16 games of the season. Recently, Cholowsky was named the No.9 shortstop in the country by D1Baseball.com.
BRUINS PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLLย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Big Ten Preseason Poll
1. Oregon
2. Nebraska
3. Indiana
4. UCLA
5. Michigan
6. USC
FRIENDLY CONFINESย ย ย ย ย
With a sweep over Stanford in the final weekend of the 2024 regular season, UCLA clinched its ninth consecutive season with a winning record at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins have had a losing record at home just twice over the last 20 seasons, last occurring in 2014 (11-20).
MIDWEEK NOTESย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
- UCLA is 42-18 in midweek contests since the start of 2019
- The Bruins are 4-1 in midweek games this season and are undefeated on Tuesdays (4-0)
- UCLA went 5-6 in 2024 in midweeks, defeating Nevada, LBSU, and UCSB at home, and LMU and Pepperdine away
- In 2023, UCLA went 6-4 with wins coming against Pepperdine, Michigan, Long Beach State (2), LMU, and CS Fullerton
- The Bruins had two midweek games rained out in 2023, and had one rained out last season.
- AJ Salgado (.357 BA, .438 OBP), Payton Brennan (.357/.438/.536), Duce Gourson (.333/.481/.615, 3 HRs), Roch Cholowsky (.326/.415/.630, 4 HRs, 11 RBIs), Roman Martin (.294/.333/.706), and Cody Delvecchio (2.70 ERA in 6.2 IP) were all standouts in midweek competition in 2024.
- The Bruins went undefeated in midweeks in 2019 (11-0) and 2021 (8-0)
- UCLA won seven straight midweeks from Mar. 1 to Apr. 19, 2022
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCKย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA added 11 newcomers ahead of the 2025 season, including eight freshmen and three transfers. Coach Savage has bolstered his pitching staff with three pitchers joining via the transfer portal. Left-hander Ian May (California) will look to occupy a spot in the starting rotation after logging 20 starts and 90.0 total innings for the Golden Bears. Fellow southpaw Ryan Rissas (UC San Diego) helped lead the Tritons to their first-ever Big West title in 2023. August Souza (Santa Clara) brings 43 appearances worth of experience after spending a total of five seasons (including 2020 Covid-shortened season) at Santa Clara.
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