UCLA Erupts Late, Stuns Oregon 9–6 With Five-Run Eighth-Inning Haymaker at Jackie Robinson Field

Photo Credits: Ricky Gonzales

LOS ANGELES - For seven innings, Oregon had the No. 1 team in the nation wobbling. A five-run lead. A dominant start from Miles Gosztola. A knockout three-run blast from Brayden Jaksa. Everything pointed toward a statement win for the No. 13 Ducks.

Then UCLA remembered who they are.

The top-ranked Bruins unleashed eight unanswered runs, including a back‑breaking five‑run rally with two outs in the eighth, to steal a dramatic 9–6 comeback win on Sunday at Jackie Robinson Field, and with it, a crucial Big Ten series victory.

What looked like an Oregon takedown turned into a UCLA revival tour in real time.

Oregon’s Dream Start: Gosztola Shoves, Ducks Jump Ahead

UCLA drew first blood in the second inning, but Gosztola immediately minimized the damage, freezing a runner at third with a strikeout to escape the jam.

That tone held for the next four innings. The lefty carved through the Bruins’ lineup, punching out nine and retiring 13 of 14 at one stretch. He didn’t walk a single hitter. He looked unfazed, even against the most dangerous offense in college baseball.

Meanwhile, Oregon’s bats capitalized on every Bruin mistake in the fourth.

The chaos unfolded pitch by pitch:
• A dropped third strike puts Maddox Molony aboard.
• A misplayed bunt moves two Ducks into scoring position.
• A walk loads the bases with no outs.
• Jack Brooks drives in one with a shallow RBI single.
• Ryan Cooney is robbed of a grand slam on a leaping catch, but it still scores a run on a sac fly.
• Brayden Jaksa, unfazed by the robbery, sends the next pitch into orbit for a three-run homer that nearly cleared the batter’s eye.

Five unearned runs. A 6–1 lead. Total control.

At that moment, Oregon looked ready to hand UCLA just its second loss in 28 conference games.

The Momentum Shifts: UCLA Finds a Pulse

But top-ranked teams don’t go quietly.

In the sixth, UCLA finally cracked the Gosztola spell when Roch Cholowsky hammered a solo shot to cut the lead to 6–2. After Gosztola exited at 5.1 innings, a misplayed double by Jaksa allowed another run to score. Suddenly the Ducks’ five-run cushion shrank to three.

In the seventh, UCLA inched closer again with a run-scoring rally that shaved the deficit to 6–4.

The tension turned thick. Oregon still led, but UCLA’s lineup had gone from quiet to snarling.

The Eighth Inning: Oregon’s Collapse, UCLA’s Coronation

Down to their final four outs, and staring at their first series loss of the season, the Bruins put together a comeback that belongs in their rivalry scrapbook.

With two outs, UCLA strung together three straight baserunners. An RBI single from Aidan Espinoza made it 6–5. Oregon still held the lead, but by a thread.

Then Dean West stepped in.

And delivered the swing that may haunt Oregon all the way to Selection Monday.

With the count in his favor, West turned on a pitch and unleashed a go-ahead grand slam, flipping a 6–5 Oregon lead into a 9–6 UCLA advantage in one violent, cathartic swing.

The Bruins, silent for six innings, had scored five runs in the blink of an eye.
Jackie Robinson Field detonated. Oregon’s dugout fell still.

UCLA had done what No. 1 teams do: bend, then break the opponent.

Easton Hawk Slams the Door

Reliever Easton Hawk made the ninth look easy, retiring the Ducks in order to close the series win and preserve UCLA’s staggering 26–1 Big Ten record.

Oregon’s frustrating collapse wasted one of the team’s best starts of the season and a breakout day at the plate. Instead of a massive résumé win, the Ducks walked off the field stunned, victims of the best team in the country doing best‑team things.