OMAHA, Neb. – A day after getting the game-winning RBI to send UCLA on to the semifinals, Mulivai Levu was again the hero for UCLA, launching a game-ending three run homer in the bottom of the ninth for a come-from-behind 7-5 win over crosstown rival USC.
Levu’s homer, coming on a middle-in fastball on the first pitch of the at-bat, capped the 27th comeback win of the season for UCLA and sent them on to Sunday’s Big Ten championship game, where they’ll face the winner of the second semifinal between second-seeded Nebraska and third-seeded Oregon.
Who else but Mulivai Levu!?@UCLABaseball advances to the the Big Ten Tournament title game for the 2nd straight year ? pic.twitter.com/TsYc6b7nJQ
— Big Ten Baseball (@B1Gbaseball) May 23, 2026
An inning earlier, it looked like the Bruins’ 50th win of the season have such a dramatic ending, considering head coach John Savage had gone to Easton Hawk, one of the nation’s best relievers, to try for his 15th save of the season. but the Trojans scored three runs against Bruins Hawk, who entered the game with a 1.57 ERA.
Fighting on, they got a lead-off single from Adrian Lopez. Augie Lopez then hit a hot grounder at Bruins second baseman Phoenix Call, who booted it, and suddenly, the tying run was on first. Hawk then issued a five-pitch walk to Kevin Takeuchi, loading the bases with Trojans with no outs.
When Isaac Cadena hit into a fielder’s choice at first, the Trojans tied the game. UCLA first baseman Mulivai Levu attempted the double play, getting the out at second, but there was no return throw, and Adrian Lopez scored to make it 4-4. Jack Basseer lofted a sac fly to center, getting Augie Lopez home for a 5-4 USC lead.
“The Leadoff single, Lopez has a really good at bat, and then we kicked the ground ball. Potential double play. And then we walk the next guy,” said UCLA head coach John Savage. “And we’re thinking about playing infield in and corners in. And lo and behold, he hit the ground ball kind of where we wanted him to be. We moved him back, so [Levu] went 3-6. And then the sac fly, Basseer did a really good job with that at-bat, and they got two runs. They did what they needed to do.”
Southern California had led the game through the first 6 1/2 innings, nabbing the early advantage in the top of the first when Abbrie Covarrubias led off the game for the Trojans with a single, then scored on a one-out double by Augie Lopez to give Southern California a 1-0 lead.
In the third, Adrian Lopez hit a one-out double then scored when Augie Lopez picked up his second RBI of the game, singling home Adrian Lopez to make it 2-0 and taking second on the throw home. After advancing to third on a single by Kevin Takeuchi, a sac fly by Isaac Cadena got Lopez home for a 3-0 lead.
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UCLA got on the board in the bottom of the third, moving Dominic Cadiz station to station after a single, with Mulivai Levu’s single to right scoring Cadiz to cut the Trojan lead to two.
An inning later, Cadiz hit an RBI single that scored Will Gasparino from second, making it a one-run game.
After a two-out single by Mulivai Levu in the bottom of the fifth, Roman Martin’s double sent Levu racing around the diamond, but a perfectly executed relay from center fielder Walter Urbon to Covarrubias to catcher Isaac Cadena arrived with plenty of time for Cadena to apply the tag to Levu at the plate, keeping the score at 3-2 for USC.
They were close, but they weren’t there yet.
Aiden Espinoza led off the bottom of the seventh with a pinch-hit single, and two batters later, Dean West gave the Bruins their first lead of the game, launching a two-run homer on an 0-1 slider from USC reliever Andrew Johnson that didn’t break over the right field bullpen to make it 4-3 UCLA.
DEAN WEST TO THE MOON?
?@BigTenNetwork#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/D3L6rzamST
— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) May 23, 2026
When the ninth rolled around, and Levu came to the plate, it was a similar situation to the night before; there were two runners on in the bottom of the ninth, and the UCLA first baseman was trying to control his heart rate despite his confidence in the moment, and look for a fastball to hit.
“I mean, I have all the confidence in myself to get it done and just to do a job, and luckily came through with it,” Levu said. He was “just trying to hunt a fastball over the plate and it ended up being middle-in. I kind of got a little jammed on it, but found the barrel at the same time. So just hunting the fastball the whole at-bat.”
After he swung at that middle-in heater and deposited it 10 rows up above the 375-foot sign in right center field, Levu’s heart was still racing.
“I couldn’t even feel it,” he said, grinning ear-to-ear. “It was racing, but it was like a good, like, heart race.”
NCAA Tournament Implications – Both UCLA, ranked No. 1 in the RPI, and USC, No. 8 in the RPI, are locks to get into the NCAA Tournament’s field of 64 and host a regional at minimum. The loss, though, might drop USC out of the top eight, which would mean that the Trojans would not host a super regional should they advance from the regional.
Asked what his team would take away from this fourth loss to their rivals this season, USC head coach Andy Stankiewicz said, “Well, everybody’s got something to improve on. I talked to the guys after the game. We all got work to do, right? … It’s just, it’s work. You can’t hope that you’re gonna figure it out, right, or the game’s gonna reward you. The game doesn’t work that way. Life doesn’t work that way. You gotta go and you gotta work at it, and you gotta be a guy that’s willing to put the time in. So that’s what we’ll do. I’ll go back to work on Monday.”
Where to Watch – The entire 2026 Big Ten Baseball Championship will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network and the games will also be available on the FOX Sports App.
2026 Big Ten Tournament Schedule
All times Eastern Daylight Time
All games played at Charles Schwab Field, Omaha, Nebraska
Tuesday, May 19
No. 12 Michigan State 8, No. 5 Purdue 4 – Game 1 – Recap
No. 8 Iowa 10, No. 9 Illinois 6 – Game 2 – Recap
No. 7 Michigan 10, No. 10 Rutgers 0 (Seven Innings) – Game 3 – Recap
No. 11 Washington 8, No. 6 Ohio State 6 – Game 4 – Recap
Wednesday, May 20
No. 5 Purdue 3, No. 9 Illinois 1 – Game 5 – Recap
No. 6 Ohio State 3, No. 10 Rutgers 2 – Game 6 – Recap
No. 12 Michigan State 4, No. 8 Iowa 3 – Game 7 – Recap
No. 11 Washington 7, No. 7 Michigan 1 – Game 8 – Recap
Thursday, May 21
No. 5 Purdue 8, No. 8 Iowa 1 – Game 9
No. 7 Michigan 3, No. 6 Ohio State 0 – Game 10
Friday, May 22
No. 4 Southern California 7, No. 12 Michigan State 0 – Game 11
No. 1 UCLA 4, No. 5 Purdue 3 – Game 12
No. 2 Nebraska 6, No. 7 Michigan 4 – Game 13
Saturday, May 23
No. 3 Oregon 9, No. 11 Washington 4 – Game 14
2 p.m. – No. 4 Southern California vs. No. 1 UCLA 4 – Semifinal 1 – Game 15
6 p.m. – No. 2 Nebraska vs. No. 3 Oregon – Semifinal 2 – Game 16
Sunday, May 24
3 p.m. EDT – Championship Game
Photo: Mulivai Levu comes home to his teammates after a game-ending three run homer to send UCLA to the Big Ten Championship Game. (Photo via of UCLA Baseball on X)
