On Friday, April 3, the UCLA Bruins defeated the USC Trojans 12-4 in a big top 15 matchup. The Bruins had 15 hits as a team and took advantage of five errors that the Trojans had.
Eight runs in the seventh and eighth innings by UCLA would allow them to pull away from the Trojans for the victory as well.
The win over USC moves UCLA’s Big Ten Conference record to 13-0. They also have an overall record of 27-2 this season.
Big-time hitter and bullpen performances for the Bruins against USC
Payton Brennan and Will Gasparino each had three hits against the Trojans. They led UCLA in hitting and combined for five RBIs.
Roch Cholowsky, Roman Martin, and Dominic Cadiz had two hits apiece in the game and also were big contributors in the win over USC.
Martin hit a solo home run in the game during the third inning. It was the only long ball of the game for UCLA.
The Bruins’ bullpen was a huge factor in shutting down USC for the win. After starting pitcher Logan Reddemann put in six innings of work, Zach Strickland came in for his relief outing.
Strickland had two strikeouts in 1 1/3 inning of work. He allowed no hits and no runs during that stretch while also walking only one USC hitter.
Easton Hawk came in for Strickland and closed out the final 1 2/3 innings of the game. He earned the save and had two strikeouts.
It was Hawk’s fourth save of the season, and much like Strickland, he allowed no hits and no runs.
USC did not score any runs in the final three innings of the game.
Up next for UCLA
The UCLA Bruins will look to win the series against their cross-town rivals with a game on Saturday, April 4.
The game against USC is at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles, and the first pitch is at 5 p.m. ET.
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: UCLA right fielder Payton Brennan takes his stance during an NCAA baseball game against Texas Christian on Friday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
