LOS ANGELES, CA – On a sold-out Easter Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium, No. 1 UCLA kept
its dominant run going, finishing off a three-game sweep of No. 12 USC with a 10-4 win.
The Bruins just keep rolling. With the win, they pushed their streak to 23 straight wins, the
longest in program history plus they made it five consecutive conference series sweeps,
something the program has never done before.
West wasted no time getting UCLA on the board, leading off the first with a shot off the hitting
facility in right. USC answered in the second with a solo homer from Augie Lopez, and the game
stayed tight through the middle innings.
“Good teams win in a lot of different ways. Wins come in a lot of different shapes. And today, clearly, we didn’t play great defense for the first time in a long time. I thought we were fortunate to win.” said UCLA coach John Savage.
Power was the story all afternoon. UCLA launched five home runs, with Mulivai Levu leading the
charge. The first baseman had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two home runs, three
RBIs, and a pair of runs scored.
Top MLB Draft prospect Roch Cholowsky stayed hot as well, getting three hits and adding his
11th home run of the season. Dean West got things going early with a leadoff homer in the first,
and Will Gasparino added to the fireworks with his 13th of the year.
Payton Brennan capped off an unreal weekend, recording his third straight three-hit game plus
an epic catch early in the game. He finished the series 9-for-13 with a home run, six RBIs, and
four runs scored.
After some back-and-forth early, UCLA took control late. The bullpen came up big, holding USC
to just one run over the final five innings. Chris Grothues picked up his first win of the season,
while Zach Strickland closed things out in impressive fashion, striking out three over two
scoreless innings to earn his first career save.
After USC briefly took the lead in the fifth, UCLA responded immediately. Levu crushed a solo
shot to start the inning, and Gasparino followed later with a two-run homer to swing momentum
right back.
From there, UCLA didn’t look back. Levu added his second homer of the day in the sixth, and
Cholowsky put the game away in the eighth with a three-run blast to center.
Strickland closed out the game fore the Bruins, shutting the door in the ninth to lock up the
sweep.
“I wish the ballpark was bigger,” Savage remarked regarding the packed Jackie Robinson Stadium that saw approximately 2,000 fans for the rivalry finale.”
UCLA now looks forward to a midweek matchup at Cal State Fullerton on April 7th, 2026