Earlier in the week,UCLA’s baseball teamhad the nation’s longest winning streak snapped.
Keeping the longest winning streak in the Big Ten alive on Saturday took some doing.
Falling behind Minnesota by two runs after squandering a bases-loaded opportunity with no outs, the top-ranked Bruins needed an offensive spark.
Mulivai Levu was more than happy to provide it, smacking a two-out, two-strike, two-run double to right field as part of a four-run sixth inning that powered UCLA to a 6-4 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The Bruins (35-3) have now won 20 consecutive games to open Big Ten play, extending their best conference start in program history.
“You usually don’t sit here in the middle of April and you haven’t lost a league game,” said UCLA coach John Savage, whose team’s 27-game winning streak was broken by UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday.
Levu and Roman Martin each tallied two hits and two RBIs for the Bruins. Leadoff hitter Dean West and Roch Cholowsky each reached base four times.
Payton Brennan started UCLA’s big sixth inning with a homer to right field. After Trey Gudoy walked and Cholowsky was hit by a pitch with two outs, Levu delivered his big hit, giving the Bruins a 4-3 lead. Martin followed with a run-scoring single to extend the advantage.
“Comebacks have been a huge part of our game,” Levu said. “I think we’re just a team that doesn’t give up.”
Savage pinpointed his team’s relentlessness in the face of adversity.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
