This post was updated May 10 at 6:10 p.m.
Four runs in the first inning seemed to reflect every other Bruin game this season.
But as unfamiliarity arose, a new tale did as well.
No. 1 UCLA baseball (45-5, 25-1 Big Ten) fell to No. 13 Oregon (36-13, 18-8) 9-6 on Saturday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins snapped a 27-game conference winning streak, dating back to the 2025 campaign’s final regular season series, where they dropped the opener to Northwestern on May 15.
“I’m not even sure if we’ve been in a series where we’ve been 1-1 (this season),” said coach John Savage. “It’s crazy, but it’s a really good opportunity, and it’s a good time of the year to have a little something go on, and now we can get back at it tomorrow.”
A solo shot from junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky – the 50th of his collegiate career – in the first frame is something the Bruin faithful have seen many times before. And following a walk and strikeout, three consecutive knocks to left field – allowing the Bruins to muster a four-run lead – has become the status quo.
But the Ducks did not let the Bruins get comfortable.
Senior right-hander Michael Barnett escaped the first inning unscathed after allowing a leadoff single, but the Ducks knocked up the starter in the second. In his 50th collegiate start, Barnett consecutively gave up a double, a walk and a single before Naulivou Lauaki Jr.’s three-run home run tied up the match.
Barnett settled back in, allowing just one hit and a walk across his final 2.1 frames of the night. As junior center fielder Will Gasparino’s solo shot allowed the Bruins to maintain a one-run lead, Savage turned to his well-rested bullpen that went unused in sophomore right-hander Wylan Moss’s complete game Friday night.
And Ian May was the first out of the pen. The redshirt senior southpaw was the lone reliever to get five sequential outs Saturday night, striking out the side in the sixth inning.
“He’s been fantastic,” Savage said. “(I’m) really proud of Ian. He’s thrown in so many different roles throughout his career, and every role we’ve asked him to do, he’s done well. He’s primed for the postseason, and it’s really fun to have him part of our program.”
May, who transferred to UCLA from California prior to the 2025 campaign, has slotted into many different roles across the last two seasons. After making 12 starts in his first Westwood campaign, where he pitched in and out of the bullpen, May has filled a reliever role this year as one of the unit’s two main southpaw options.
The Laguna Niguel, California, local bounced back from his outing versus UC Santa Barbara on April 28, where he gave up two earned runs for the first time this season.
“(I) have some mental cues, periodically throwing and doing some band work in the bullpen, keeping my body and my arm loose,” May said. “It’s more mental than physical, if anything. In the bullpen, sometimes you get ready to throw and (don’t) end up going in, so (I) just keep a stable mind and stay with the process.”
May has worked on the slight adjustments, noting the mindset it takes to fulfill the role.
But no matter the inning or capacity, May has embraced his versatility.
Junior right-hander Cal Randall replaced May in the seventh as UCLA clung on to a one-run lead, but a walk, stolen base and balk put an Oregon runner in scoring position, with a groundout erasing the Bruins’ lead.
However, Cholowsky vanquished the Ducks’ lead with his second solo shot of the night for his fifth multi-homerun game of the season. The projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft took over the sole spot atop the Big Ten home run leaderboard.
“He’s a superstar,” Savage said. “I mean, he’s as advertised. He’s as good a teammate as he is a player – and every sense of the way that we want to develop guys. He’s a guy that truly believes in the program and believes in his teammates.”
But baseball is a team sport.
And the Bruins faltered in the eighth inning.
Savage deployed his closer, sophomore Easton Hawk, after the Ducks’ right fielder Angel Laya got a single knock with two outs. Hawk – who had been lights out for 19 consecutive appearances – immediately gave up a double and a walk.
And as Hawk induced a routine groundout to end the inning, junior second baseman Phoenix Call timed the hop incorrectly and got tagged for his sixth error of the year to keep the inning alive and load the bases.
Ducks center fielder Jack Brooks subsequently roped the second pitch he saw into the left-center field gap for a bases-clearing double, giving Oregon its first lead of the series.
But the Bruin offense, which leads the Big Ten in RBIs with 398 and boasts a conference-low 349 strikeouts, fell silent for the final six outs besides drawing two walks. Adding insult to injury, the heart of UCLA’s order went three up, three down in the ninth, wasting an opportunity to rewrite the tale.
“We’re not used to losing, especially a game we should have won – but there’s nothing you can do,” Gasparino said. “It’s baseball. We’re going to be ready tomorrow and win the series.”
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