Friday, April 11
Los Angeles, CA
6:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
vs
Washington
Roman Martin
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
No. 10 UCLA Hosts Washington in Return to Big Ten Play
April 10, 2025 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES - The No. 10-ranked UCLA baseball team makes its return to Big Ten Conference action when it hosts Washington for a three-game set beginning on Friday, April 11 at 6 p.m. PT, continuing on Saturday, April 12 at 2 p.m. PT, and concluding on Sunday, April 13 at 1 p.m. PT. The games will be streamed on B1G+. 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 (Fri.):ย Nick Koop (play-by-play), Sid Iyer (analyst)
Talent (Sat.):ย Jonah Malkin (play-by-play), Sid Iyer (analyst)
Talent (Sun.):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
MIDWEEK RECAPย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA scored four runs in the sixth inning to extend its margin to 11 runs, activating the 10-run mercy rule in the seventh. Cal Randall and August Souza combined to get the last three outs in the final frame, sending the fans home after just seven innings. All nine starters recorded a hit in the contest, which marks the second time this season the Bruins have accomplished this feat. The UCLA offense was bolstered by Jarrod Hocking's two-run homer in the second inning and Blake Balsz's two-hit day at the plate.
ย
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, April 11 - 6 p.m. PTย
UCLA - Fr. RHP Wylan Moss (1-0, 2.54 ERA)
UW โ Sr. RHP Max Banks (3-2, 3.34 ERA)
ย
Saturday, April 12 - 2 p.m. PTย
UCLA - Jr. RHPย Michael Barnettย (6-0, 4.54 ERA)
UW โ Sr. RHP Jackson Thomas (3-2, 3.62 ERA)
ย
Sunday, April 13 - 1 p.m. PTย
UCLA - TBA
UW โ TBA
ABOUT THE HUSKIESย ย ย ย ย
Washington brings a five-game win streak into the weekend, including a three-game sweep over Purdue in its most recent Big Ten series. At 8-4 in conference play, the Huskies rank fourth in the Big Ten. Washington's team batting average of .260 is the second-worst mark in the Big Ten, but its pitching staff boasts a 5.21 which ranks as the fifth-best in the conference. UCLA will meet a familiar face in Malakhi Knight who made 23 starts in the outfield for the Bruins last season. Knight has been a mainstay in the Huskies' outfield, hitting .265 in his 28 starts. Last season, Washington won two of the three games in the final Pac-12 series between the two schools.
ย
CHOLOWSKY NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD MIDSEASON WATCH LISTย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Sophomore Roch Cholowsky was named to the USA Baseball Midseason Golden Spikes Watch List. Cholowsky, a sophomore from Chandler, Ariz., has been outstanding for UCLA as it reaches the halfway point in the season. The shortstop is hitting a team-best .371 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs during his excellent campaign. Cholowsky boasts team-bests in on-base percentage (.532) and slugging (.707) to post an OPS of 1.239. The 2024 Freshman All-American has produced in the crucial moments for the Bruins with four go-ahead home runs on the season. He launched a grand slam to complete UCLA's comeback against Michigan State on Feb. 23 in what was just the beginning of his heroics at the plate in 2025.
In what was arguably UCLA's most exhilarating win of the season, Cholowsky hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Bruins the lead when they were down to their final out against Maryland on March 7. This dramatic moment helped secured UCLA's first-ever victory in the Big Ten Conference.
ย
CARDIAC BRUINSย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA has scored first just 13 times in its 32 games this season, racking up a total of 13 come-from-behind victories during its 26-6 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 13-0 record.
ย
ROCH AND THE ADVANCED STATISTICS
Roch Cholowsky has undoubtedly been one of the nation's most valuable players, and the advanced statistics prove it. According to data compiled by 643 charts, Cholowsky ranks sixth in the nation in wins-above-replacement (WAR) with a mark of 3.28. UCLA's shortstop has particularly stood out defensively with a defensive-runs-saved mark of 8.67 and defensive WAR of 0.65, both metrics inside the top-15 nationally.
ย
DAZZLING DOUBLE PLAYSย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA has turned 33 double plays this season which ranks fourth in the nation and first among Power-4 conference teams. Roch Cholowsky and Phoenix Call have combined to turn 21 of the 33 twin killings. It is worth noting that all 33 double play turns have taken place in the infield as first baseman Mulivai Levu has been involved in all of them. The Bruins have been excellent defensively in 2025, posting a fielding percentage of .980 which ranks 17th nationally.
ย
CLOSING IN ON HISTORYย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Head Coach John Savage recently reached a significant milestone, eclipsing the 700-win mark at UCLA with a Friday night win over San Diego. With 702 wins at UCLA, he ranks second all-time, trailing only Gary Adams (1975-2004) who finished his career with 984 wins. Savage began his head coaching career at UC Irvine, where he notched 88 wins in his first three seasons, bringing his career total to 790. His winning percentage of .599 with the Bruins is the highest among UCLA coaches with over 100 games coached.
ย
QUITE THE INTRODUCTIONย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Sophomore Grant Gray received his first career start in UCLA's midweek matchup with LMU on Tuesday night, and he made the most of it, launching a two-run home run in what was his first career hit. Gray is a two-way athlete, as he also competes as a wide out for the UCLA football team.
ย
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
ย
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).
ย
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 (Fri.):ย Nick Koop (play-by-play), Sid Iyer (analyst)
Talent (Sat.):ย Jonah Malkin (play-by-play), Sid Iyer (analyst)
Talent (Sun.):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 ascended four spots in the D1Baseball poll, landing at No. 10
- The Bruins are also ranked in the Baseball America poll at No. 17
- At 23-5, UCLA achieved its best 28-game start to a season since 2010
- UCLA made it eight consecutive winning weekends after taking two of three games from San Diego
- UCLA picked up its fourth victory via the run-rule this season with a 12-1 over Long Beach State on Tuesday night
- The Bruins suffered their first defeat since March 21 when they fell in a 14-inning battle on Sunday afternoon vs. USD
- UCLA scored 37 runs in the sweep over Purdue, matching its tally from the three-game set against Cal Poly (Feb. 14-16)
- UCLA has won all four of its conference series and currently sits atop the Big Ten standings at 10-2
- UCLA has won 19 of its last 22 contests
- UCLA is 19-4 at Jackie Robinson Stadium this season
- Roch Cholowsky was recently named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List
- Cholowsky leads the team in hitting at .371, mashing nine home runs, collecting 32 RBI, and slugging .707
- Mulivai Levu ranks eighth in the nation and second in the Big Ten with 48 RBIs
- Levu leads the team with 10 homers and is hitting .450 with 18 RBIs and two homers over the last 10 games
- Levu recorded back-to-back four hit games in the Saturday and Sunday wins over Purdue
- AJ Salgado is slashing .444/.571/.833 with three home runs and 11 RBI over the last 10 contests
- Michael Barnett ranks fourth the nation with six wins this season, and ninth in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 8.00
- UCLA secured its first-ever sweep in the Big Ten era by winning three straight games over Nebraska
- 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
- UCLA drew 15 walks against BYU, its most in a game since Feb. 18, 2024
- 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
MIDWEEK RECAPย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA scored four runs in the sixth inning to extend its margin to 11 runs, activating the 10-run mercy rule in the seventh. Cal Randall and August Souza combined to get the last three outs in the final frame, sending the fans home after just seven innings. All nine starters recorded a hit in the contest, which marks the second time this season the Bruins have accomplished this feat. The UCLA offense was bolstered by Jarrod Hocking's two-run homer in the second inning and Blake Balsz's two-hit day at the plate.
ย
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, April 11 - 6 p.m. PTย
UCLA - Fr. RHP Wylan Moss (1-0, 2.54 ERA)
UW โ Sr. RHP Max Banks (3-2, 3.34 ERA)
ย
Saturday, April 12 - 2 p.m. PTย
UCLA - Jr. RHPย Michael Barnettย (6-0, 4.54 ERA)
UW โ Sr. RHP Jackson Thomas (3-2, 3.62 ERA)
ย
Sunday, April 13 - 1 p.m. PTย
UCLA - TBA
UW โ TBA
ABOUT THE HUSKIESย ย ย ย ย
Washington brings a five-game win streak into the weekend, including a three-game sweep over Purdue in its most recent Big Ten series. At 8-4 in conference play, the Huskies rank fourth in the Big Ten. Washington's team batting average of .260 is the second-worst mark in the Big Ten, but its pitching staff boasts a 5.21 which ranks as the fifth-best in the conference. UCLA will meet a familiar face in Malakhi Knight who made 23 starts in the outfield for the Bruins last season. Knight has been a mainstay in the Huskies' outfield, hitting .265 in his 28 starts. Last season, Washington won two of the three games in the final Pac-12 series between the two schools.
ย
CHOLOWSKY NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD MIDSEASON WATCH LISTย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Sophomore Roch Cholowsky was named to the USA Baseball Midseason Golden Spikes Watch List. Cholowsky, a sophomore from Chandler, Ariz., has been outstanding for UCLA as it reaches the halfway point in the season. The shortstop is hitting a team-best .371 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs during his excellent campaign. Cholowsky boasts team-bests in on-base percentage (.532) and slugging (.707) to post an OPS of 1.239. The 2024 Freshman All-American has produced in the crucial moments for the Bruins with four go-ahead home runs on the season. He launched a grand slam to complete UCLA's comeback against Michigan State on Feb. 23 in what was just the beginning of his heroics at the plate in 2025.
In what was arguably UCLA's most exhilarating win of the season, Cholowsky hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Bruins the lead when they were down to their final out against Maryland on March 7. This dramatic moment helped secured UCLA's first-ever victory in the Big Ten Conference.
ย
CARDIAC BRUINSย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA has scored first just 13 times in its 32 games this season, racking up a total of 13 come-from-behind victories during its 26-6 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 13-0 record.
ย
ROCH AND THE ADVANCED STATISTICS
Roch Cholowsky has undoubtedly been one of the nation's most valuable players, and the advanced statistics prove it. According to data compiled by 643 charts, Cholowsky ranks sixth in the nation in wins-above-replacement (WAR) with a mark of 3.28. UCLA's shortstop has particularly stood out defensively with a defensive-runs-saved mark of 8.67 and defensive WAR of 0.65, both metrics inside the top-15 nationally.
ย
DAZZLING DOUBLE PLAYSย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA has turned 33 double plays this season which ranks fourth in the nation and first among Power-4 conference teams. Roch Cholowsky and Phoenix Call have combined to turn 21 of the 33 twin killings. It is worth noting that all 33 double play turns have taken place in the infield as first baseman Mulivai Levu has been involved in all of them. The Bruins have been excellent defensively in 2025, posting a fielding percentage of .980 which ranks 17th nationally.
ย
CLOSING IN ON HISTORYย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Head Coach John Savage recently reached a significant milestone, eclipsing the 700-win mark at UCLA with a Friday night win over San Diego. With 702 wins at UCLA, he ranks second all-time, trailing only Gary Adams (1975-2004) who finished his career with 984 wins. Savage began his head coaching career at UC Irvine, where he notched 88 wins in his first three seasons, bringing his career total to 790. His winning percentage of .599 with the Bruins is the highest among UCLA coaches with over 100 games coached.
ย
QUITE THE INTRODUCTIONย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Sophomore Grant Gray received his first career start in UCLA's midweek matchup with LMU on Tuesday night, and he made the most of it, launching a two-run home run in what was his first career hit. Gray is a two-way athlete, as he also competes as a wide out for the UCLA football team.
ย
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
ย
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).
ย
MIDWEEK NOTESย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
- UCLA is 45-18 in midweek contests since the start of 2019
- The Bruins are 7-1 in midweek games this season and are undefeated on Tuesdays (7-0)
- Payton Brennan is slashing .471/.550/.706 with a home run during midweek competition
- Mulivai Levu has 13 RBIs in the eight midweek games, slashing .387/.432/.645 with a pair of home runs
- UCLA has out-scored its opponents 90-36 during midweek games in 2025
- UCLA went 5-6 in 2024 in midweeks, defeating Nevada, LBSU, and UCSB at home, and LMU and Pepperdine away
- 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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