Scouting Saint Mary's Ahead of UCLA's Regional Bout

UCLA had three straight walk-off wins to win the Big Ten Championship, but against Saint Mary's, they can't rely on walk-offs.

Jun 14, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach John Savage on the field before the game against the Murray State Races at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

UCLA baseball has had a season for the record books as they were the number one team in the country all season long.

Led by the number one-ranked MLB prospect Roch Cholowsky as well as one of the top pitchers in college baseball, Logan Reddemann, UCLA finished the regular season with a 48-6 record.

Jun 14, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach John Savage watches the team warm up before the game against the Murray State Races at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

With such an amazing season, the Bruins cleaned up the Big Ten awards as Roch Cholowsky won his second straight Big Ten player of the year award, John Savage won coach of the year, and Roch Cholowsky, Will Gasparino, Mulivai Levu, Roman Martin, and Logan Reddeman, Wylan Moss, and Easton Hawk were all named to First Team All-Big Ten.

UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament

Jun 17, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; UCLA Bruins shortstop Roch Cholowsky (1) throws to first base against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the third inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

The Bruins would then head to the Big Ten Tournament as the number one overall seed. In the tournament, the Bruins would play only three games, with a two-game bye, and would struggle in all three.

Against Purdue, UCLA came back down three runs and would win off a walk-off sacrifice fly by Mulivai Levu to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. Then moving on to the semi-finals, UCLA would once again win off a walk-off from Mulivai Levu, but instead of a sac fly, it would be a three-run homer to beat USC. In the championship, for the third straight game, they won on a walk-off, this time off a hit-by-pitch call in the 10th inning, giving the Bruins their first Big Ten Championship.

Jun 17, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; UCLA Bruins first baseman Mulivai Levu (39) hits a triple against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the ninth inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Now, the Bruins move on to the College World Series as the number one overall seed. To move on to win the championship, their first matchup is against Saint Mary's, who would love nothing more than to pull off the upset.

Scouting Saint Mary’s

Jun 17, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach John Savage (22) walks to the dugout before the restart of the game against the LSU Tigers at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

The Gaels have been the best offensive team in the West Coast Conference all season as they lead the conference in hits, runs, at-bats, doubles, tied for triplets, home runs, RBI’s, slugging percentage, on base percentage, and also struck out the least amount of times.

With such a high-powered offense, it's no wonder that Saint Mary’s was able to win the WCC Championship against San Francisco for their second straight championship and third in program history.

Jun 14, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach John Savage watches the team warm up before the game against the Murray State Races at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

While the offense is elite, the Bruins can take advantage of the pitching in their matchup. The Gaels have allowed the second most hits in the conference, as well as being in the middle of the conference in opponent batting average and runs.

With the Bruins struggling to create separation in the score during the Big Ten tournament, a matchup against a pitching squad that allows the second-most hits in the WCC is the perfect game for the Bruins to get their groove back on offense.