Top-ranked UCLA baseball pulls off three-game sweep of ranked teams in Texas

Roch Cholowsky hit a two-run, two-out home run in the ninth to tie game and send UCLA to 8-7 win over Mississippi State.

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Top-ranked UCLA baseball pulls off three-game sweep of ranked teams in Texas

[UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky throws the ball during a game against BYU on Feb. 18 in Los Angeles.]

UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky helped UCLA rally for an 8-5, 10-inning win over Mississippi State on Sunday. (Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

Eric Sondheimer

Mon, March 2, 2026 at 1:02 AM UTC·
2 min read

Whatever shortstop Roch Cholowsky does these days for UCLA's No. 1-ranked baseball team never surprises those around him, so when he hit a two-out, two-run home run in the ninth inning Sunday to tie the score against Mississippi State, it was just another example of his power in clutch moments.

UCLA (9-2) went on to break the tie with three runs in the top of the 10th inning and held on for an 8-7 victory at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. It was the third consecutive ranked team beaten by the Bruins during a memorable weekend of college baseball. Mississippi State was ranked No. 4, and the Bruins' other wins came against No. 23 Texas A&M and No. 20 Tennessee. Mississippi State and Texas A&M both came in unbeaten.

THE MAN FOR THE BIG MOMENT

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— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) March 1, 2026

UCLA took the lead in the 10th on a wild pitch and drove in two more runs on a triple from former Huntington Beach standout Aidan Espinoza.

Amegy Bank College Baseball Series
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 🏆 pic.twitter.com/OjcMjK39v0

— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) March 2, 2026

The Bruins held an 8-5 lead, but Mississippi State closed to 8-7 on a two-run home run by Reed Stallman, his second of the game, in the bottom of the 10th. UCLA used six pitchers. Will Gasparino hit his 10th home run.

The Bruins return to Jackie Robinson Stadium for a game against Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday before traveling to open Big Ten Conference play against Ohio State in a three-game series starting Friday.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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