No. 1 UCLA Dominates Offensively in Series-Opener vs No. 7 TCU

Early crooked innings from the Bruins helped them dominate in the series-opener against the Horned Frogs.

Feb 14, 2026; Arlington, TX, USA; Arkansas vs TCU during the Shriner's Children's College Showdown at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

On Friday night, the No. 7 TCU Horned Frogs and the No. 1 UCLA Bruins kicked off a three-game series out at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles, California. After the Frogs dropped a midweek matchup to UT Arlington, the program headed west to take on another top-tier program.

Entering the weekend, knocking off the No. 1 team in the country was expected to be a tall task. With starting pitcher Tommy LaPour not available, the Frogs' pitching staff already needed to be extremely sharp, especially against a loaded Bruins' batting lineup.

Unfortunately, the Frogs' ambitions of starting their weekend off on the right foot never materialized. Mason Brassfield, who was tabbed the starting pitcher for the Frogs on Friday night, couldn't quite find his rhythm, only throwing 1.2 innings before being pulled.

By the end of the night, UCLA totaled 15 hits on the road to a 10-2 win over the Frogs. While TCU threatened to get back into the game with some ninth-inning magic, three-straight strikeouts from UCLA pitcher CJ Bott secured the win for the Bruins.

Roch Cholowsky Is As Advertised

Jun 14, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; UCLA Bruins shortstop Roch Cholowsky (1) fields a ground ball against the Murray State Racers during the ninth inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

There's a reason why the UCLA shortstop is considered a unanimous No. 1 overall pick in this year's MLB Draft. Cholowsky wasn't just a major role player in UCLA's series-opening win over the Frogs: he was the main driving force for the Bruins' offense.

Brassfield found himself in a tough spot early in the game. While the lefty may have looked solid against the No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks, it was a different story against UCLA on Friday. In just 1.2 innings, UCLA recorded seven hits against Brassfield to total five earned runs.

The killing blow for both Brassfield and the Frogs? You guessed it. With the bases loaded, Cholowsky gave the Bruins a five-run lead with a grand slam in the second inning. From then on, the relentless UCLA offense just kept hitting the baseball.

Cholowsky's talent both at the plate and in the field seems to be contagious. While the shortstop led the team with five runs batted in on Friday night, Mulivai Levu also showed out with a team-high four hits. Levu also recorded two runs batted in for UCLA as well.

Why the Frogs Can Bounce Back

Feb 14, 2026; Arlington, TX, USA; Arkansas vs TCU during the Shriner's Children's College Showdown at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

The good news for the Frogs is that they won't have to face Logan Reddemann again this weekend. He kept the Frogs off the basepaths for most of the night, tossing 5.0 innings while allowing five hits and just one earned run. He also struck out 10, with most of those punchouts coming on the fastball.

With Reddemann done for the weekend, TCU will likely have more opportunities to score at the plate. While Michael Barnett presents the Frogs with an entirely new challenge on Saturday, TCU's offense should be a little more comfortable in the box tomorrow.

Chase Brunson provided one of the bright spots to Friday's contest, launching an early home run that helped TCU get the ball rolling.

Brunson got ahold of all of that one 💥💥#GoFrogs | #FrogballUSA pic.twitter.com/ti44ckgsBz

— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) February 21, 2026

It's also nice to see that the Frogs have continued to get better as the game goes on. TCU threatened to score in both the seventh and ninth inning, leading to UCLA having to expend a little more pitching for the rest of the weekend.