Dominic Cadiz delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning, helping No. 1 UCLA secure a 4-3 comeback victory over Cal State Fullerton at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Tuesday night. The win marked the Bruins’ fourth consecutive victory and their second straight extra-inning win.
UCLA was held without a hit for six innings but managed to rally after Dean West drove in a run with an RBI single in the seventh inning. This sparked a three-run rally that erased Cal State Fullerton’s early 3-0 lead and sent the game into extra innings.
The Bruins’ bullpen played a key role, keeping Cal State Fullerton scoreless in the late innings. Zach Strickland pitched 2.1 scoreless innings and recorded three strikeouts, while Cal Randall escaped trouble in the top of the 10th to keep the game tied.
Cal State Fullerton built its lead with a three-run third inning, highlighted by Ty Thomas’s two-run home run. The Titans kept UCLA hitless through six innings while issuing six walks during that stretch.
In the seventh inning, Kasen Khansarinia and Phoenix Call drew walks before West singled to center field for UCLA’s first run. Roch Cholowsky added a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one, and West later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 3-3.
Will Gasparino led UCLA’s offense with two hits, including a leadoff double in the 10th inning that put him in scoring position for Cadiz’s decisive hit. After Aiden Aguayo walked and Gasparino advanced to third on a passed ball, Cadiz came off the bench as a pinch hitter and lined a single into right field to bring home Gasparino for the winning run.
UCLA will begin Big Ten conference play this weekend with a three-game series against Ohio State in Columbus. The series opener is scheduled for March 6 at 1 p.m. PT and will be available live on B1G+.
