Brennan's 3 hits, 2 RBIs help UCLA beat UTSA 7-0 and win super regional, clinch berth in CWS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Payton Brennan had three hits, two RBIs and scored two runs on Sunday and UCLA beat UTSA 7-0 to win the Los Angeles Super Regional and advance to the College World Series.
UCLA won its first super regional title since 2013 when the Bruins claimed the program's only national championship.
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The No. 15 seed Bruins (46-16) advance to the College World Series and play the winner between Duke and Murray State in the CWS.
Brennan hit a two-out double and Toussaint Bythewood followed with an RBI single off starter Conor Myles (5-2) to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Phoenix Call led off the fifth with a bunt single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dean West before Roch Cholowsky drove in Call with a single to left field that made it 2-0.
UCLA starter Brandon Stump hit Andrew Stucky with a pitch to lead off the fifth and was replaced by Chris Grothues (4-1), who got Norris McClure to ground into a 6-3 double play — the Bruins 63rd of the season, the most in the nation — before Mason Lytle struck out looking to end the inning.
Grothues, Cal Randall, August Souza and Easton Hawk combined for five no-hit innings of relief for the Bruins.
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The Bruins added two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth, including Brennan's two-run single.
Umpire Eric Goshay was hit on the chin with a foul ball off the bat of Cholowsky in the seventh inning and left the field in the eighth. Second base umpire Travis Carlson moved behind the plate to accommodate for a three-man officiating crew.
UTSA (47-15) saw its historic season, including a new program single-season wins record, come to a close. The Roadrunners beat Kansas State in their opener at the Austin Regional for UTSA's first postseason win and then beat No. 2 national seed Texas twice to claim the program's first-ever regional title.
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New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Eight things to know about the 2025 NCAA Men's College World Series field
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The eight CWS teams combined to sign 17 of the top 100 players in Perfect Game's Class of 2024 recruiting rankings. Nine of the 17 enrolled in college, headlined by two top-10 prospects at LSU — pitcher William Schmidt (No. 5) and outfielder Derek Curiel (No. 10). Advertisement LSU's signing class featured 11 top-100 players (six enrolled), while Oregon State and Arkansas each signed two and Arizona and UCLA each signed one. Here's a look at the 2024 top-100 recruits who made it to campus for the teams in the 2025 CWS. No. 5 William Schmidt, RHP, LSU: Schmidt has pitched in 17 games, mostly in nonconference action, and has a 7-0 record with a 4.73 ERA. He has 41 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings. No. 10 Derek Curiel, OF, LSU: Curiel has been one of the best freshmen in the nation. He's hitting .347 with seven home runs and 52 RBIs. No. 40 Mason Russell, LHP, Arizona: White has thrown only 7 1/3 innings in seven appearances. He has a 13.50 ERA and a 2.45 WHIP. No. 43 Dax Whitney, RHP, Oregon State: Whitney has been a key part of the Beavers' weekend rotation. The Idaho native is 6-3 with a 3.66 ERA and has struck out 111 batters in 71 1/3 innings. No. 56 Carson Wiggins, RHP, Arkansas: Wiggins has made 14 appearances, all in relief, and is 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA and three saves. He has given up only seven hits and has 20 strikeouts in 14 innings. No. 73 Cooper Williams, LHP, LSU: Williams has been a key left-handed option out of the bullpen. He has thrown 19 2/3 innings over 20 appearances and has an 0-1 record with a 1.83 ERA. No. 74 Casan Evans, RHP, LSU: Evans started three SEC games but has mostly been used out of the bullpen. He is 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA and six saves. He has 65 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings. No. 79 David Hogg II, INF, LSU: Hogg played in only three games and recently entered the transfer portal. No. 92 Ryan Costello, 1B, LSU: Costello, like Hogg, is in the transfer portal after playing sparingly in 2025. Last year's CWS field featured some of the game's most prodigious power hitters. Led by Florida's Jac Caglianone and Tennessee's Christian Moore, seven of the nation's top 16 home run leaders played in Omaha in 2024. Advertisement It's a different story this time around. The 2025 field features only two of the top 20 sluggers: Jonathan Hogart of Murray State (tied for fourth with 24) and Roch Cholowsky of UCLA (tied for sixth with 23). Three teams in the field rank among the top 20 nationally in home runs — Arkansas (fourth with 124), Oregon State (tied for 16th with 103) and LSU (19th with 101). Next up is Louisville (43rd with 83). Coastal Carolina is the only team not in the top 100. The Chants are 108th with 66. Murray State is the fourth No. 4 Regional seed to crash the College World Series since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1999. Here's a look at how the Cinderellas got to Omaha, and how they fared. Fresno State, 2008: Aaron Judge's alma mater (no, he was not on the '08 Bulldogs) won the Long Beach Regional and then beat Arizona State in three games in the Tempe Super Regional to advance to Omaha. The Bulldogs beat No. 6 seed Rice 17-5 and No. 2 seed North Carolina 6-2 to stay in the winners' bracket. They lost to North Carolina 4-3 but then beat the Tar Heels 6-1 to move on to the championship series. Georgia won the opener 7-6, but Fresno State bounced back with wins of 19-10 and 6-1 to claim the title. Stony Brook, 2012: The America East champs had to come out of the losers' bracket to win the Coral Gables Regional and advance to face mighty LSU in the Baton Rouge Super Regional. LSU won the first game, but Stony Brook won the next two, 3-1 and 7-2, to stun the college baseball world. The Seawolves' stay in Omaha did not last long; they lost to No. 2 seed UCLA 9-1 in the opener and then bowed out with a 12-2 loss to No. 3 Florida State. Oral Roberts, 2023: Oral Roberts, which cruised through the Summit League with a 23-1 record, went 3-0 at the Stillwater Regional and then beat Oregon in three games at the Eugene Super Regional (after losing the opener 9-8 after leading 8-0!). The Golden Eagles went 1-2 in Omaha, beating TCU in the opener and then losing to Florida and TCU. The eight teams in Omaha have a combined 74 appearances in the College World Series and 16 national championships. LSU leads the way with 20 CWS appearances, followed by Arizona (19), Arkansas (12), Oregon State (eight), Louisville (six), UCLA (six), Coastal Carolina (two) and Murray State (one). The titles belong to LSU (seven), Arizona (four), Oregon State (three), Coastal Carolina (one) and UCLA (one). (Photo of Murray State: Jaylynn Nash / Imagn Images)
