LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Barnett gave up two runs in six innings, Roman Martin had three RBIs for UCLA and the Bruins rallied to beat UTSA 5-2 on Saturday at the Los Angeles Super Regional in the first-ever matchup between the teams.
No. 15 national seed UCLA (46-16) can clinch a berth in the College World Series with a win Sunday in Game 2 of the best-of-three series.
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Barnett (12-1) gave up six hits with no walks. Jack O’Connor and August Souza each pitched a no-hit inning of relief before Easton Hawk had two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save of the season.
Payton Brennan, Cashel Duggar and Phoenix Call each hit a single off starter Zach Royse (9-5) to load the bases in the fourth inning before Brennan scored on Dean West’s sacrifice fly to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead.
Mason Lytle hit a home run to lead off the game and Caden Miller stole home in the second inning to give UTSA a 2-0 lead.
West and Roch Cholowsky hit back-to-back singles before Mulivai Velu drove in West with a double down and Cholowsky scored on a groundout by Martin to make it 2-2.
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Martin hit a two-out triple in the eighth that drove in two runs to make it 5-2.
UCLA, the 2013 CWS champion, is hosting its first super regional since 2019. The Bruins made their seventh super regional berth all time and sixth under coach John Savage.
UTSA (47-14) is making its first appearance in the super regionals. The Roadrunners beat Kansas State 10-2 in the opening round of the Austin Regional — the program’s first-ever postseason win — and beat No. 2 national seed Texas twice to win their first regional title.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
