The UCLA baseball team secured a 12-5 win over Tennessee in the opening game of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Classic at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Bruins, currently ranked No. 1, improved their season record to 7-2 with this victory.
Will Gasparino led the offense for UCLA, hitting two home runs in the game. This marked his third multi-homer performance of the season and moved him into first place nationally with eight home runs. Roman Martin contributed a three-run homer in the seventh inning, his first of the year. Mulivai Levu added a two-run shot in the third inning, while Payton Brennan hit an opposite-field solo home run—his second of the season.
Logan Reddemann started on the mound for UCLA and pitched 5.1 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing one earned run before leaving with two inherited runners who later scored.
Cashel Dugger had two hits and drove in two runs for UCLA. Roch Cholowsky also made an impact by going 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and scoring once.
Aiden Aguayo reached base three times during the game and recorded a hit. Aidan Espinoza came off the bench to get a base hit in the ninth inning.
Dugger opened scoring for UCLA in the second inning with a double that brought Aguayo home from first base. In the third inning, Cholowsky doubled before Levu followed up with a home run to right field to give UCLA a 3-0 lead.
Brennan extended that lead in the fourth inning with a 443-foot home run to make it 4-0. In the fifth inning, Cholowsky’s sacrifice fly allowed Dominic Cadiz to score from third base.
Tennessee responded by scoring four runs on four hits in the sixth inning to narrow UCLA’s lead to one run.
UCLA answered back strongly in their half of the seventh inning by scoring six runs. Gasparino began this rally with a solo home run. After Dean West was hit by a pitch and Levu singled, Martin hit his three-run homer. Brennan and Aguayo then reached base ahead of Dugger’s single up the middle that scored both runners after an outfield error.
The Volunteers managed another run in their half of the seventh and threatened again in eighth until Easton Hawk entered as closer and struck out two batters to end Tennessee’s rally attempt.
Gasparino added his second homer of the night late in the game for additional insurance before Hawk finished pitching a scoreless ninth inning to secure UCLA’s win.
UCLA will play next against Texas A&M at Globe Life Field tomorrow at 5 p.m., with coverage available on FloSports.
