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University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Friday, May 22
Omaha, Neb.
4:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
49-6
4
vs
3
Purdue
37-20
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| UCLA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
Mulivai Levu
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Levu Walk-Off Sends No. 1 UCLA to Semifinals After Thrilling 4-3 Win Over Purdue
May 22, 2026 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. – Mulivai Levu delivered a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to complete No. 1 UCLA's dramatic comeback win over Purdue, 4-3, in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Baseball Tournament presented by IFS.ai at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
With the victory, the Bruins (49-6, 28-2 Big Ten) advance to the semifinal round, where they'll face No. 4-seed USC at 12 p.m. PT.
UCLA trailed from the third inning on after surrendering a two-spot and didn't hold a lead until Levu's game-winner. Roman Martin jump-started the rally with an RBI triple in the seventh, and Payton Brennan followed with a sharp RBI single up the middle to tie it at 3-3.
The Bruins executed flawlessly in the ninth. Aidan Espinoza opened the inning with a hard-hit grounder that the Purdue shortstop was unable to field cleanly. Phoenix Call followed with a sacrifice bunt that turned into another baserunner after a second Boilermaker error. Dean West then dropped down a perfect sac bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Purdue intentionally walked Roch Cholowsky to load the bases, setting the stage for Levu, who delivered the decisive swing to finish off a 2-for-3 night.
UCLA mustered just one hit through the first five innings but finished with six on the night as the offense finally found its rhythm late.
Ian May was outstanding in relief, retiring all but one batter over the minimum across 2.1 innings while striking out two. The bullpen locked it down from there, as Justin Lee, Zach Strickland, and Easton Hawk each delivered scoreless outings. Hawk (4-2) earned the win and extended his remarkable streak to 23 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run.
Purdue pushed across two runs in the third, using a pair of hits and a UCLA throwing error to grab the early lead.
UCLA was held to just one hit through five innings before Cholowsky opened the sixth with the Bruins' first knock since the opening frame. He later came around to score on Payton Brennan's sacrifice fly, trimming the deficit to one.
The Boilermakers answered with a run in the seventh when Brandon Rogers launched a solo home run to restore their two-run cushion.
UCLA answered with a two-out rally in the eighth to pull even. Levu started it with a base hit to right, and Martin followed by driving a ball off the top of the wall in center, initially ruled a game-tying two-run homer before review changed it to an RBI triple. Moments later, Brennan delivered the clutch two-out single up the middle to score Martin and tie the game.
The Bruins move on to meet No. 4-seed USC in Saturday's semifinal, with first pitch set for 12 p.m. PT on Big Ten Network.
With the victory, the Bruins (49-6, 28-2 Big Ten) advance to the semifinal round, where they'll face No. 4-seed USC at 12 p.m. PT.
UCLA trailed from the third inning on after surrendering a two-spot and didn't hold a lead until Levu's game-winner. Roman Martin jump-started the rally with an RBI triple in the seventh, and Payton Brennan followed with a sharp RBI single up the middle to tie it at 3-3.
The Bruins executed flawlessly in the ninth. Aidan Espinoza opened the inning with a hard-hit grounder that the Purdue shortstop was unable to field cleanly. Phoenix Call followed with a sacrifice bunt that turned into another baserunner after a second Boilermaker error. Dean West then dropped down a perfect sac bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Purdue intentionally walked Roch Cholowsky to load the bases, setting the stage for Levu, who delivered the decisive swing to finish off a 2-for-3 night.
UCLA mustered just one hit through the first five innings but finished with six on the night as the offense finally found its rhythm late.
Ian May was outstanding in relief, retiring all but one batter over the minimum across 2.1 innings while striking out two. The bullpen locked it down from there, as Justin Lee, Zach Strickland, and Easton Hawk each delivered scoreless outings. Hawk (4-2) earned the win and extended his remarkable streak to 23 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run.
Purdue pushed across two runs in the third, using a pair of hits and a UCLA throwing error to grab the early lead.
UCLA was held to just one hit through five innings before Cholowsky opened the sixth with the Bruins' first knock since the opening frame. He later came around to score on Payton Brennan's sacrifice fly, trimming the deficit to one.
The Boilermakers answered with a run in the seventh when Brandon Rogers launched a solo home run to restore their two-run cushion.
UCLA answered with a two-out rally in the eighth to pull even. Levu started it with a base hit to right, and Martin followed by driving a ball off the top of the wall in center, initially ruled a game-tying two-run homer before review changed it to an RBI triple. Moments later, Brennan delivered the clutch two-out single up the middle to score Martin and tie the game.
The Bruins move on to meet No. 4-seed USC in Saturday's semifinal, with first pitch set for 12 p.m. PT on Big Ten Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hawk, Easton (4-2)
L: KRAMER, Jake (4-4)
Batting:
HR: ROGERS, Brandon 1
RBI: ROGERS, Brandon 1 ; FLORES, Sam 1
SH: ROGERS, Brandon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ROGERS, Brandon 2 ; MOORE, Avery 1
SB: FLORES, Sam 1 ; BOYLE, Westin 1
HBP: MOORE, Avery 1
Batting:
3B: Martin, Roman 1
RBI: Levu, Mulivai 1 ; Martin, Roman 1 ; Brennan, Payton 2
SH: West, Dean 1 ; Call, Phoenix 1
SF: Levu, Mulivai 1 ; Brennan, Payton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cholowsky, Roch 1 ; Levu, Mulivai 1 ; Martin, Roman 1 ; Hocking, Jarrod 1
HBP: West, Dean 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball1B
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballHighlights - UCLA Baseball vs. Purdue (May 22, 2026)
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