Full Game Preview and Score Prediction for Virginia Tech Baseball vs. UCLA

Following a 6-2 loss in its regional opener to Cal Poly, Virginia Tech baseball is now situated in the Los Angeles Regional's losers' bracket, and it now embarks on a win-or-be-eliminated clash with No. 1 national seed UCLA. The Bruins (51-7) were stunned by four-seed Saint Mary's 3-2, becoming the first-ever No. 1 seed in a regional to lose its opener. The Gaels were anchored by designated hitter Jacob Johnson, who went 3-for-4 with two home runs against the Bruins, including one in the ninth inning.

𝙎𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙨#RoadToOmaha #Hokies 🦃⚾️ pic.twitter.com/rkEdAOmSf7
— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) May 30, 2026

Virginia Tech will start junior right-hander Brett Renfrow on the mound against the Bruins; Renfrow has not played since May 14 against Clemson. This year, the junior has totaled a 4.65 ERA in 14 appearances, compiling a 5-4 record. In his last three starts, Renfrow has thrown for a 1.79 ERA, yielding only three earned runs in 15.1 frames.

In starts against Pitt (April 17), NC State (April 24) and California (May 1), Renfrow rolled up nine strikeouts. His strongest outing came against Stanford on March 28, where he threw 7.1 frames of two-hit, one-run ball alongside a career-high 12 strikeouts. Renfrow has thrown at least six strikeouts in seven games this season.

Per Virginia Tech baseball head coach John Szefc, junior RHP Brett Renfrow will start against UCLA tomorrow. Renfrow has not played since May 14 (v. Clemson). The #Hokies' season is over if they lose in the L.A. Regional again.
— Thomas Hughes (@thomashughes_05) May 30, 2026

UCLA obviously presents a daunting test for Virginia Tech. Shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the likely No. 1 pick in July's MLB Draft, earned Big Ten Player of the Year for the second straight year, while seven Bruins were named First-Team All-Big Ten.

The Bruins were in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series with Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Texas A&M from Feb. 27-March 1; while the Hokies lost to the Aggies 10-0, the Bulldogs 15-8 and the Volunteers 3-1, UCLA won against all three opponents by 11-1, 8-7 and 12-5 margins, respectively.

UCLA is the nation's consensus top national seed, and it totaled its first 50-win season in seven seasons. Virginia Tech's clash with the Bruins will be the two schools' first-ever matchup.

The Bruins are a balanced top-to-bottom lineup, with all seven routine hitters hitting at least a .260 clip. Junior first baseman Mulivai Levu leads the way with a .336 batting average; the 6-foot-1 infielder went 5-for-13 in the Big Ten Tournament with five RBI, though he's 0-for-9 at the plate in his last two games.

Then, there's third baseman Roman Martin, who currently holds a six-game hit streak and has notched one in 12 of his last 13 games. Martin went 3-for-13 at the Big Ten Tournament and 1-for-4 in the Bruins' loss to Saint Mary's. This year, Martin is batting at a .332 clip with 17 doubles and eight home runs.

And then, there's Cholowsky, Last year's National Player of the Year by D1Baseball, Rawlings, Baseball America, and Perfect Game has followed last year's season with a stellar third campaign. Though his batting average has decreased from .353 to .323, he's knocked just two fewer home runs in eight fewer games. Cholowsky currently holds a .323 clip at the dish with 31 extra-base hits (72 total), a team-high 21 home runs, a .650 slugging percentage and a .453 on-base percentage. This season, Cholowsky is fielding at a .963 clip.

Cholowsky, though, went 4-for-13 at the Big Ten Tournament and did not scratch across a run. He was 0-for-4 against Saint Mary's, though in the game before (Oregon, May 24), he went 3-for-4 at the dish.

Elsewhere in the lineup, outfielders Will Gasparino (.316 BA, 1.073 OPS, 19 home runs, transferred from Texas) and Payton Brennan (.290 BA, three triples, eight home runs) provide extra support, though Gasparino did not play in the loss to Saint Mary's due to an ejection in the Big Ten title game against Oregon. Gasparino will presumably be back for Saturday's showdown against the Hokies.

UCLA utilized sophomore right-hander Wylan Moss on the mound in Friday's loss to the Gaels; he went for five frames, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out four. With that, Michael Barnett becomes the likely starter, since junior RHP ace Logan Reddemann has not played since April 17 vs. Minnesota.

Barnett currently touts a 6-0 record and has made 15 appearances, all of which were starts. In 65 innings of work, he's allowed 61 hits, 30 earned runs, 28 walks and nine home runs. The senior from Lafayette, Calif., has collected 53 strikeouts thus far this season. In Barnett's last start (USC, May 23, Big Ten Tournament), he threw for 4.2 frames, allowing eight hits, three runs (all earned) and a walk.

Though Barnett totaled four straight games with a contest-wide ERA under the 5.00 mark, his last three have resulted in ERA totals of 8.31, 7.36 and 5.79, causing his season-wide ERA to burgeon from 3.44 to a current 4.15 mark. Barnett has gone for 70 or more pitches in each of his last seven starts.

In relief, some of the arms UCLA could utilize include redshirt senior left-hander Ian May (2.08 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, nine ER in 39 IP), freshman right-hander Elai Iwanaga (2.31 ERA), junior right-hander Justin Lee (3.26 ERA) and senior right-hander Jack O'Connor (3.52 ERA).

As aforementioned, Virginia Tech enters with its season on the line. Cal Poly defeated the Hokies 6-2 and totaled 13 hits.

"Just a tough night for our guys," said Virginia Tech head coach John Szefc. "... We hadn't played in a week. It kind of looked that way, or kind of pretty rusty in a lot of different ways. We did a lot of OK stuff, nothing really tremendous. Give them credit. Their starter, Griffin Naess, was very good.

"I mean, it just went their way. I don't even know how many base hits they had where it was just bouncing balls to the infield on a hard surface. But give them credit. Had 13 hits, and they walked like five times. On paper, they probably should have won that game a lot more than 6-2. But credit our guys for kind of keeping it close and giving a shot at the end."

Virginia Tech's tilt with the Bruins starts at 4 p.m. ET, with coverage for the contest on ESPN+.

Stay up to date with Virginia Tech's journey in the Los Angeles Regional through our coverage hub.

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