Latest news with #DeanWest
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Men's College World Series: Arkansas cruises after UCLA gamble backfires; Louisville advances in thriller
The action started early on Day 5 of the Men's College World Series. Following Monday's suspension due to bad weather, LSU defeated UCLA in a game that was supposed to finish on Day 4. The loss pushed UCLA into a loser's bracket matchup with Arkansas in the nightcap, which ultimately eliminated the Bruins. Advertisement In between those two contests, Louisville outlasted Oregon State 7-6 in a thrilling elimination game that featured four home runs and an epic ninth inning. Arkansas 7, UCLA 3 UCLA loaded the bases in the first inning Tuesday night, getting off to what looked like a fast start against Arkansas in a CWS elimination game. But it was the Razorbacks who prevailed by extinguishing the hot Bruins start, then launching an offensive outburst of their own in the bottom of the first en route to a 7-3 Arkansas win. With the victory, Arkansas advances to face LSU on Wednesday in another elimination game for the Razorbacks. UCLA's season is over. Advertisement Attempted steal of home backfires UCLA outfielder Dean West led off the game with an infield single, then reached second on a single by All-American and top MLB draft prospect Roch Cholowsky. Roman Martin walked two batters later to load the bases with one out. But Arkansas starter Zach Root induced a lineout for the second out of the inning that didn't advance a runner. Then a big gamble by the Bruins backfired. With the bases loaded and two outs, West tried to steal home. He didn't make it. Catcher Ryder Helfrick secured the pitch from Root, then applied the tag to West's arm just before West touched home plate. A review by the umpires was of no help to UCLA. They upheld the call at home, and the UCLA half of the inning was over with no runs. Advertisement When Arkansas faced a scoring chance in the bottom of the inning, it took advantage, thanks to a home run by All-American and first-round MLB draft prospect Wehiwa Aloy. Oufielder Charles Davalan led off the bottom of the inning with a single to left field. Five pitches later, Aloy sent him home. With a 2-2 count, Bruins starter Cody Delvecchio offered a 94 mph fastball on the outside edge of the plate. Aloy sent it deep to right field and over the bullpen wall for a two-run home run. The blast gave the Razorbacks a 2-0 lead after one inning. Arkansas added another run in the fifth and two more each in the seventh and eighth before UCLA finally cracked the scoreboard with three runs in the top of the ninth. It was far too little, too late. Advertisement Root pitched five shutout innings as the Arkansas offense piled on, and reliever Will McEntire survived a shaky ninth inning. Arkansas will play again in prime time Wednesday night in a 7 p.m. ET (ESPN) matchup against LSU. LSU can advance to the CWS finals with a win. An Arkansas win would force a winner-take-all rematch on Thursday for the right to go to the championship series. -Jason Owens Louisville 7, Oregon State 6 Louisville flipped the script on Oregon State on Tuesday. Four days after the Cardinals watched the Beavers render a ninth-inning comeback obsolete with a walk-off win, Louisville gave Oregon State a taste of its own medicine in a memorable rematch. Advertisement Oregon State came back from three runs down to tie the game 6-6 in the top of the ninth, only for Louisville right fielder Eddie King Jr. to hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the frame. "This team is special," King said afterward, via the ESPN broadcast. "We get knocked down, but we get right back up. We just got to keep continuing to do that." King batted in the game's final run as well as its first. While both starting pitchers worked through trouble early, Oregon State junior Nelson Keljo was the first to crack. After an infield single and a walk, Keljo allowed an RBI single to King, who staked Louisville a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Advertisement The Cardinals nearly gave it back immediately. Louisville starter Brennyn Cutts struck out the side in the first, but the senior dealt with some traffic in the second and third innings before escaping unscathed. Louisville gave him more run support in the bottom of the third. With a man on second, third baseman Jake Munroe hit a two-run homer to left field to extend Louisville's lead to 3-0. King followed with a ground-rule double off Keljo. With Louisville threatening to break the game open, first baseman Tague Davis hit a line drive to right field — but directly at Oregon State right fielder Easton Talt, who made the out and ended the inning. Advertisement Oregon State answered back with a no-doubter of its own. After Cutts walked designated hitter Tyce Peterson, he was chased by first baseman Jacob Krieg. The 6-foot-5 junior hammered the first 400-foot dinger of the MCWS, depositing a long ball — his 14th of the season — well over the left-field fence and cutting the Beavers' deficit to 3-2. The home run derby continued in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to Zion Rose, who ripped a solo shot to give the Cardinals a 4-2 lead. Left-handed Cardinals pitcher Justin West, who replaced Cutts in the fourth, put out six straight Oregon State batters across the fourth and fifth innings, but that streak came to an end in the top of the sixth. After issuing a walk, West saw a perfectly placed bunt from Peterson bounce past his reach. Then he drilled Krieg in the leg. Advertisement All of a sudden, Oregon State had the bases loaded with no outs. Although West fanned pinch hitter Carson McEntire, Louisville couldn't turn two on the ensuing grounder from center fielder Canon Reeder. In the process, second baseman AJ Singer raced home to make it a 4-3 game. A flyout from third baseman Trent Caraway then ended the threat. In the bottom of the inning, Garret Pike pinch hit for Bayram Hot at designated hitter and delivered a two-out double to left-center. He later scored on an error to send Louisville into the seventh inning with a 5-3 lead. After Oregon State missed an opportunity to chip away at its deficit in the top of the seventh, Louisville restored its three-run advantage with the first of King's two sac flies in the bottom of the frame. Oregon State found itself back in a three-run hole entering the ninth inning. That's when shortstop and highly regarded MLB prospect Aiva Arquette injected some hope into the veins of Beavers faithful with a lead-off home run, this one a 418-foot bomb. It was only the third homer given up by Louisville lefty Wyatt Danilowicz this season. Right-handed pitcher Tucker Biven came in to relieve him shortly thereafter and immediately allowed a four-pitch walk. Singer loaded the bases with a single to right. Advertisement The Beavers, who had struggled mightily with runners in scoring position to this point of the MCWS, finally came through with their backs against the wall — with the help of the ball bouncing their way. Peterson's grounder arrived at shortstop the same time catcher Wilson Weber was crossing the line of sight of the normally sure-handed Alex Alicea. Alicea failed to field the ball, and Weber and Turley scored to tie the game 6-6. Alicea instantly got some redemption, leading off the bottom of the ninth with a walk. Louisville center fielder Lucas Moore then reached first because of catcher's interference. Klein laid down a sacrifice bunt, except it didn't turn out to be sacrificial, as Oregon State pitcher Kellan Oakes couldn't field it properly. Two batters later, King dialed up his clutch fly ball to center field. It was plenty deep enough to score Alicea as soon as he tagged. Advertisement Louisville, which also stayed alive with a late surge against Arizona on Sunday, will next play Coastal Carolina at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Oregon State is eliminated. -Andy Backstrom LSU continues to dominate the competition. After advancing Tuesday, its team's lead in the Jell-O shot challenge is not in question. Whether LSU can break the all-time Jell-O shot record, however, seems like a tall ask. The school is currently lagging behind record pace, but perhaps fans will be inspired after Tuesday's victory. No other school has come close to matching LSU this year. Murray State sits in second with 7,421 Jell-O shots consumed. Arkansas — which is still alive as of Tuesday morning — sits at 6,801. LSU holds the record with 68,888 Jell-O shots consumed in 2023. Fans would really need to up their consumption to beat that record, but the school could rally as long as the team keeps winning.
Washington Post
02-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Levu's 3-run HR helps UCLA beat UC Irvine 8-5 to sweep Los Angeles Regional
LOS ANGELES — Mulivai Levu hit a three-run home run, Dean West and Payton Brennan added two RBIs apiece and UCLA jumped to a big lead and then held on to beat UC Irvine 8-5 on Sunday night and win the Los Angeles Regional. UCLA (45-16) clinched its first trip to the super regionals since 2019.
Associated Press
02-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Levu's 3-run HR helps UCLA beat UC Irvine 8-5 to sweep Los Angeles Regional
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mulivai Levu hit a three-run home run, Dean West and Payton Brennan added two RBIs apiece and UCLA jumped to a big lead and then held on to beat UC Irvine 8-5 on Sunday night and win the Los Angeles Regional. UCLA (45-16) clinched its first trip to the super regionals since 2019. UC Irvine (43-17) beat Arizona State 11-6 in a loser-out game earlier Sunday. The Anteaters made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since they went to six straight tourneys from 2006-11. Roman Martin's RBI single off Finnegan Wall (0-1) in the first inning made it 1-0 and the Bruins led the rest of the way. Cashel Dugger hit a single in the second that drove in Brennan, who doubled to lead off the inning, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Roch Cholowsky to make it 3-0. Dugger and Phoenix Call drew back-to-back walks to lead off the fourth and West followed with a bunt single to load the bases. Dugger scored on another sacrifice fly by Cholowsky and, after Levu's homer, Brennan added a sacrifice fly to make it 8-0. James Castagnola and Alonso Reyes each had an RBI for the Anteaters in the fourth, Anthony Martinez hit a two-run double in the fifth and Reyes hit a lead-off home in the sixth to cap the scoring. Chris Grothues (3-1) came on in relief of starter Wylan Moss with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth. Grothues got Reyes to groundout, driving in Martinez, and struck out Blake Penso to limit the damage. Easton Hawk pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his sixth save of the season. ___ AP college sports:
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
UCLA baseball defeats UC Irvine to advance to NCAA super regionals
UCLA left fielder Dean West, shown here hitting against Fresno State on Friday, had two hits and scored twice in the Bruins' 8-5 victory over UC Irvine in the Los Angeles Regional final Sunday night. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times) UCLA baseball is one step closer to earning a trip to Omaha. The Bruins continued to roll in every facet of the game in the Los Angeles Regional final, scoring early and trusting their bullpen to defeat UC Irvine 8-5 on Sunday night. The Bruins advance to the super regionals of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019 and will host the Texas San Antonio at Jackie Robinson Stadium this week. Advertisement UTSA defeated Texas 7-4 in the Austin Regional final, taking down the national second-seed Longhorns to advance to its first-ever super regional. If UCLA beats UTSA, it'll advance to the College World Series in Omaha for the first time since 2013. Read more: UC Irvine showcases its power, eliminating Arizona State in NCAA baseball tournament UCLA's offense was just as ready to explode — like they did versus Fresno State and Arizona State — against a depleted UC Irvine pitching staff (with high-leverage bullpen arms Ricky Ojeda and David Utagawa unavailable after pitching earlier Sunday). Rallying for six hits across the first two innings, the Bruins put together three runs thanks to RBI singles from Roman Martin and Cashel Dugger, and a sacrifice fly from Roch Cholowsky. Advertisement UCLA first baseman Mulivai Levu helped place the game in blowout territory — an 8-0 lead — when he connected for a three-run home run in a five-run fourth inning. Much like UCLA had done all weekend, the lineup kept on churning. Freshman Wylan Moss set the tone for UCLA's combined pitching effort. Moss, who entered the contest with a 2.25 earned-run average and an All-Big-Ten Freshman Team recognition, was as good as advertised to stymie UC Irvine, which came off an 11-run offensive showing earlier in the day. The 6-foot-3 righty struck out the top of the Anteaters lineup — Will Bermudez, Chase Call and Jacob McCombs — swinging on change ups. Moss, who had yet to pitch in the NCAA Tournament, was lying in wait for a game of magnitude. He pitched 3 ⅓ innings, giving up two runs and two hits, while walking three and striking out four. From there, a five-pitcher bullpen effort kept Irvine at bay, pitching 5 ⅔ innings of five-run ball the rest of the way to wrap up regional action in Westwood. Advertisement Things got more complicated for UCLA in the sixth, when freshman right-hander Cal Randall gave up a solo home run to UC Irvine designated hitter Alonso Reyes to make it a three-run game, but right-hander Jack O'Connor entered to extinguish the threat — and set down UC Irvine outfielder Chase Call on a fielder's choice to close out the inning. Read more: UCLA baseball crushes Fresno State behind 22-hit barrage in NCAA regional opener It wasn't easy sailing for the Bruins in the late innings. Graduate student right-hander August Souza bailed UCLA out of a bases-loaded jam by freezing the potential go-ahead run, Blake Penso, on a full-count, 87-mph fastball in the seventh. Advertisement When the Bruins needed it the most, Souza struck out two in a scoreless eighth, putting metaphorical champagne on ice in Westwood. Freshman right-hander Easton Hawk tossed a perfect ninth, striking out James Castagnola to end it, prompting the Bruins to run onto the field in celebration. UCLA owned the Los Angeles Regional title. Postseason baseball will remain in Jackie Robinson Stadium for at least one more weekend. Levu led all Bruins with three RBIs, while Cholowsky went one for three with two RBIs from sacrifice flies. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
01-06-2025
- Sport
Roman Martin's grand slam highlights UCLA's 11-5 win over Arizona State in Los Angeles Regional
LOS ANGELES -- Roman Martin belted a grand slam in a seven-run second inning and high-scoring UCLA rolled past Arizona State 11-5 on Saturday night to reach the championship round of the Los Angeles Regional. The Bruins added two runs in the third. Dean West doubled to right center for one run and Roch Cholowsky drove in West with a single up the middle. UCLA added single runs in the fifth and eighth innings. The Bruins, who blasted Fresno State 19-4 on Friday, got their 11 runs on 12 hits, three hits coming from Payton Brennan. UCLA awaits the winner of Sunday's elimination game between Arizona State and UC Irvine. The winner of that one would need to beat UCLA later on Sunday and again on Monday to win the regional. UCLA would advance with one win. Arizona State got two RBIs from Brody Briggs. Ian May (7-3) pitched five innings and allowed three runs, two earned, in relief of starter Landon Stump. Jack Martinez (6-4) gave up seven runs in the first 1 2/3 innings for Arizona State. UCLA has seven regional championships and won the College World Series in 2013. Arizona State has a storied history in college baseball with 20 CWS appearances and five national championships, the last in 1981.
