No. 1 UCLA Rallies Past No. 13 Oregon Behind Late Grand Slam
- Mick Xu
- May 10
- 2 min read
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — No. 1 UCLA baseball rallied from a five-run deficit to defeat No. 13 Oregon 9-6 on May 10 at Jackie Robinson Stadium, using a five-run eighth inning to complete one of its biggest comeback wins of the season. The Bruins trailed 6-1 after Oregon’s five-run fourth inning, but UCLA answered with eight unanswered runs to take the series finale and clinch the weekend series. The win moved UCLA to 46-5 overall and 26-1 in Big Ten play.
Dean West delivered the defining swing of the afternoon for the Bruins. With UCLA trailing late, West came to the plate in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and crushed a go-ahead grand slam to right-center field, turning a one-run deficit into a UCLA lead. West finished with four hits, four RBIs and two runs scored, giving the Bruins production from the top of the order while also making a key defensive play earlier in the game.
UCLA’s comeback began before the eighth inning. Roch Cholowsky helped spark the response with a solo home run in the sixth, his Big Ten-leading 21st homer of the season. The Bruins added another run later in the inning, then cut Oregon’s lead again in the seventh before breaking through in the eighth. UCLA’s lineup continued to pressure Oregon’s bullpen with two-out baserunners, setting up West’s decisive moment.
The Bruins also received important work from the bullpen after Oregon built its early lead. Angel Cervantes, Cal Randall, Zach Strickland and Easton Hawk combined to keep Oregon scoreless over the final five innings, giving UCLA’s offense time to climb back into the game. Hawk closed the ninth with a perfect inning to secure the win and earn his 13th save of the season.
For UCLA, the result showed why the Bruins have remained one of the strongest teams in college baseball. Even after falling behind by five runs to a ranked opponent, UCLA stayed composed, worked back into the game inning by inning, and delivered in the late moments. The comeback win gave the Bruins another ranked series victory and kept their momentum moving toward the final stretch of the regular season.
