Bruins Take Two of Three From Former Pac-12 Foe

The UCLA Bruins earned another crucial series win this weekend as they took two of three from the Washington Huskies in Westwood.

UCLA Bruins pitcher Max Rajcic (8) pitches as Florida State Seminoles take on UCLA Bruins during the NCAA regional baseball tournament at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala., on Friday, June 3, 2022. | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

The No. 10 UCLA Bruins (28-7, 12-3) are back on top of the Big Ten standings as they won their fifth straight conference series, taking two of three from the Washington Huskies (18-19, 9-6) this past weekend.

After a disappointing 5-2 loss in game one on Friday night, the Bruins stole the series with a pair of weekend wins, outscoring the Huskies, 20-12 in the final two games. They took game two, 7-3, and Sunday's Game 3, 13-9.

The top offensive performance came from sophomore outfielder Dean West as he recorded multi-hit games in all three contests of the series. West was a combined 7-12 with two RBI's and seven runs scored. He has continued to be a strong leadoff hitter for the Bruins this season.

Future draft prospect and sophomore shortstop for the Bruins, Roch Cholowsky, shined bright in Sunday's win, earning four hits, including three doubles and a home run for a total of five RBIs. He now holds the team lead in long balls with 11, three more than he had in his entire freshman season.

Sophomore infielder Roman Martin his his second homer of the season the series finale, nabbing two hits and two RBIs in the win. He is one of four Bruins with 40 or more hits this season, helping lead this team to the third-best batting average in the Big Ten (.304).

It was not the strongest showing from the Bruins starting pitching as each gave up multiple runs, but the bullpen and offensive assistance were enough to win the series.

Junior right-hander Michael Barnett improved to 7-0 in Saturday's win while freshman righty Wylan Moss tossed five innings in Friday's loss, allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts. He would earn a no decision as he was pulled from the contest before Washington made their comeback.

The Bruins will now prepare for one of their most anticipated series of the season and the best opponent they have faced all season, the No. 16 Oregon Ducks (24-10, 12-6) It will be the first ranked conference matchup of the season between the only two Big Ten teams that are nationally ranked.

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