UCLA Slugs Five Homers in 16-2 Win at Pepperdine

MALIBU, Calif. – Freshman first baseman Mulivai Levu had seven RBIs over the first three innings of the game and freshman righty Luke Rodriguez allowed just one hit over a standout five-inning start as UCLA recorded a 16-2 win over Pepperdine on Tuesday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium.

The Bruins (14-28) posted crooked numbers in each of their first three offensive frames to quickly establish control of the game. The Waves (12-29) narrowly avoided their third shutout of the season after rallying for two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

UCLA finished the game with new season highs in runs and home runs (five).

Levu was the clear offensive standout on Tuesday, going 3-4 with two homers and becoming the first Bruin with a seven-RBI game since Tommy Beres did so on May 28, 2022 during the Pac-12 Tournament.

Fellow freshmen Roch Cholowsky (2-4, three runs, two RBIs) and Blake Balsz (3-5, two RBIs) also had big days with the bats. In all, freshmen accounted for all but three of UCLA's RBIs in the win. Redshirt junior right fielder AJ Salgado had a game and season-high four hits.

Bruin pitchers collectively had a performance to remember as well, as Rodriguez and relievers Justin Lee and Caedon Kottinger teamed up to hold the Waves to two hits and no runs over the first eight innings of the contest.

Levu was central to each of the Bruins' early-game rallies.

The Huntington Beach, Calif. native had the biggest swing of a first-inning three-spot, launching a three-run home run to the parking lot above right-center field to make it 4-0 with just one away. UCLA would continue to rally after the roundtripper, with the next four Bruins reaching in success en route to two more runs and a 6-0 advantage. UCLA sent 11 batters to the plate as part of the decisive rally.

Levu left the yard the very next inning to put the Bruins in the driver's seat, going the other way with an 0-1 offering and sending it over the fence in left-center for a two-run shot. The shot gave him his second multi-homer game of his freshman campaign.

The Bruins pushed the lead into double digits with a four-spot in the third. Levu again had the biggest swing of that frame, ripping a single to right with the bases loaded that saw a trio of Bruins score after the Pepperdine right fielder's throw got away from his catcher.

Cholowsky joined the party with a solo homer to lead off the seventh, curling it inside the left-field foul pole for his fourth home run in the past five games. It was his fifth roundtripper of the year overall.

Balsz and junior shortstop Cody Schrier added home runs in the late innings to move the game into blowout territory. Balsz's homer – a moonshot over the scoreboard in right field – was the first of his collegiate career.

The offensive outburst turned out to be a surplus for Rodriguez and the UCLA bullpen, as Bruin pitchers kept the Waves at bay all afternoon.

Pepperdine managed just one hit off Rodriguez for his entire outing, a roller from Justin Rubin that bounced off the second base bag in the bottom of the first.

Even accounting for that knock, the Waves hardly threatened against Rodriguez at all, managing to get just one runner past first base after Rodriguez issues two free passes in the fourth. He promptly induced an inning-ending fly ball from six-hitter Connor Walsh to extinguish that threat.

Rodriguez ultimately retired nine consecutive batters over the first through fourth innings, going 1-2-3 in back-to-back frames starting in the second.

Pepperdine loaded the bases in both the eighth and ninth innings, breaking up the shutout in the last of the ninth.

The hosts used 11 pitchers in the contest, with none recording more than five outs.

UCLA returns to action this weekend, facing Cal State Fullerton in a three-day, three-venue series starting with a 6:05 p.m. PT Friday night contest at Angel Stadium.