OMAHA, Neb. — UCLA head coach John Savage walked out of the dugout and to freshman pitcher Wylan Moss. The righty sat down the primary two batters he confronted Tuesday morning however stepped into bother with a stroll and a base hit. When Moss’s first pitch to LSU’s Steven Milam didn’t catch the strike zone, Savage wished to provide the righty encouragement.
Milam singled to proceed the two-out rally. It was the primary of 4 Tigers two-out RBIs on Tuesday, fifth of the sport. LSU went 7-for-15 with two outs. It didn’t matter if it was Moss or one of many seven different Bruins pitchers that confronted LSU. Even dependable nearer Easton Hawk gave up a ultimate RBI within the backside of the eighth, stopping UCLA from constructing momentum from a scrappy eighth inning.
“Just seemed like we were swimming upstream a little bit most of the game,” Savage mentioned.
LSU leapfrogged UCLA’s three-run first inning by scoring 4, giving the Tigers an early lead on Monday evening. They maintained that lead for 15 hours as storms rolled over Charles Schwab Area, forcing the sport to proceed Tuesday morning. LSU scored two when play resumed within the fourth. UCLA scrapped collectively an eighth-inning rally till Phoenix Name, the potential tying run, grounded out to shortstop, dooming the Bruins to a 9-5 loss within the Males’s Faculty World Collection. The Bruins now face Arkansas and attainable elimination at 4 p.m. PDT Tuesday. The sport will air on ESPN.
“We put up three and then they put up four. Then they come out and do a good job with two outs in the fourth, and they got two there,” Savage mentioned. “And it seemed like we were just trailing a little bit from the mound, mostly.”
Not one of the eight pitchers used within the loss recorded greater than six outs. Landon Stump allowed 5 runs in two-plus innings earlier than Chris Grothues ended the third inning going into the climate delay. Moss solely pitched two outs. Sophomore Cal Randall got here in to supply 1.2 innings of one-hit aid. Ian Could, Jack O’Connor, August Souza and Hawk mixed to throw underneath three innings, permitting three hits, two runs and two walks.
“They were competing. Just some days you have it better than others,” mentioned Cashel Dugger, who caught all eight pitchers. “We’re in the World Series. They’re giving it their all. Just some days you don’t have it as good as others.”
UCLA sophomore pitcher Cal Randall delivers the ball from the mound throughout a Males’s Faculty World Collection sport towards LSU on Tuesday, July 17, 2025. The Bruins misplaced the sport that began Monday evening and resumed Tuesday following a climate delay.
(Mac Brown / UCLA Athletics)
The Bruins’ bats struggled to reply the decision. Collectively, UCLA lead-off batter went 1-for-11 (.091) within the sport. The Bruins went 2 of 10 with two outs, 4 of 14 with runners on base. Dugger was considered one of three Bruins with two hits, becoming a member of Mulivai Levu and AJ Salgado.
On the core of UCLA’s offensive struggles is standout shortstop Roch Cholowsky. Whereas his sacrifice bunt towards Murray State on Saturday began a rally, he’s nonetheless with no hit within the Faculty World Collection after going 0-for-5 towards LSU. He hadn’t completed that since early March towards UConn. Cholowsky is now hitless in his final 12 at bats.
He popped out in foul territory to start out the eighth inning, the place UCLA made it’s final stand. Payton Brennan scored Levu on a fielder’s alternative and Blake Balsz despatched an RBI single up the center to provide the Bruins momentum. Dugger then walked to load the bases. LSU introduced in sophomore righty Chase Shores to face Phoenix Name, the tying run. Name swung on the first pitch, a dribbler to the shortstop. The rally ended with a flip to second.
“We had some opportunities, but at the end of the day I just thought they were the better team today,” Savage mentioned. “So we’ve got to regroup and focus on Arkansas now.”
The Bruins dodged unhealthy Large Ten climate all season. Now they are going to play their first doubleheader of the season within the Faculty World Collection. Awaiting them within the elimination sport is a workforce using the emotional excessive of a 19-strikeout no-hitter on Monday.
