UCLA Beats Purdue 4-3 on Levu Walk-Off Fly, Reaches Big Ten Semifinals
Updated
Updated · UCLA Athletics · May 22
UCLA Beats Purdue 4-3 on Levu Walk-Off Fly, Reaches Big Ten Semifinals
8 articles · Updated · UCLA Athletics · May 22
Mulivai Levu's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth gave No. 1 UCLA a 4-3 quarterfinal win after the Bruins had trailed since Purdue scored twice in the third.
UCLA managed only one hit through five innings before rallying late: Payton Brennan's sacrifice fly cut the deficit in the sixth, then Roman Martin's RBI triple and Brennan's RBI single tied it 3-3 in the eighth.
Two Purdue errors and two sacrifice bunts set up the winning chance in the ninth, with the Boilermakers intentionally walking Roch Cholowsky to load the bases for Levu.
Ian May allowed almost nothing over 2.1 relief innings, and Easton Hawk earned the win while extending his streak to 23 straight appearances without an earned run.
The 49-6 Bruins advance to face No. 4 seed USC in Saturday's semifinal at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
Are UCLA's back-to-back walk-off wins a sign of championship grit or a prelude to their luck running out against Oregon?
Has Mulivai Levu, with two game-winning hits, become the most clutch player in college baseball heading into the championship?