Bruins Earn First-Ever Sweep in Big Ten Action

The UCLA Bruins earned their first-ever conference series sweep in the Big Ten as they took care of business against the Nebraska Cornhuskers last weekend.

Auburn Tigers head coach Butch Thompson and UCLA Bruins head coach John Savage shake hands before the Auburn Tigers take on UCLA Bruins during the NCAA regional baseball tournament at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala., on Sunday, June 5, 2022. / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

The UCLA Bruins (16-4, 5-1) are making quite the splash to begin the 2025 campaign as they recently earned their first Big Ten series sweep in program history. A three-game route of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-11, 1-5) at Jackie Robinson Stadium extended their win streak to five.

The Bruins outscored Nebraska, 21-8, in 27 total innings, with the most notable victory coming on Saturday night as the Bruins won, 11-3. Eight different batters recorded a hit as redshirt senior outfielder AJ Salgado had a season-high six RBIs with a pair of three-run homers.

The most impressive pitching performance of the weekend came from junior right-hander Michael Barnett, who got the start in the Bruins' Saturday night win. He delivered five innings, allowing just one run with seven strikeouts. He is tied for the team lead with 26 strikeouts through 19.2 innings.

Two notable offensive showings came from Bruins sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowksy and sophomore outfielder Dean West. Cholowksy hit his team-leading seventh home run in Sunday's 5-3 win, finishing the weekend with three hits and two RBIs.

West has continued to be one of the best leadoff hitters in the conference. He was able to collect three hits and two RBIs, currently riding an eight-game hitting streak. He is also tied for the team lead in walks with 20 and striking out just 11 times in 72 at-bats.

There is a healthy mix of veteran talent that has helped this team stay consistent over the first 20 games of the year, but also the electric young stars that have been producing above expectations. Head coach John Savage's groups seem to be clicking on all cylinders so far this year.

UCLA is now ranked second in the Big Ten standings at 5-1, directly behind the No. 9 Oregon Ducks (17-3, 5-0). From what has been shown in the early going, this team has a great chance to win its first Big Ten title behind some explosive offense, stellar defense and pitching.

The Bruins will have another series sweep opportunity when they host Indiana Hoosiers (11-9, 4-2), starting this Friday in Los Angeles. The Hoosiers are tied for third in the conference currently, with this weekend's series expected to be extremely competitive.

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