OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Phoenix Call was grazed by a pitch with two outs and the bases full in the bottom of the 11th inning and UCLA defeated Oregon 3-2 on Sunday to win the Big Ten Championship.
It was the top-seeded and top-ranked Bruins’ third walk-off win of the tournament and they benefited from two close calls in the winning rally. With nobody out in the 11th, Roman Martin advanced from second to third on a bunt by Jarrod Hocking. Martin was called safe on the tight play and the ruling stood after Oregon challenged the call.
The play loaded the bases and after Devin Bell struck out two UCLA batters, Call was hit on the shoulder by a pitch from Bell, allowing Martin to score. Again, the play was challenged and stood up to review, giving the Bruins the Big Ten title in their second season in the conference.
No. 14 Oregon, the third seed, led 2-1 heading to the bottom of the ninth inning but UCLA’s Aidan Espinoza tied it with an RBI single to right field.
UCLA’s Will Gasparino drove in the game’s first run with a triple in the fourth inning. He was then caught in a rundown and tagged out. Ultimately, he was ejected for malicious contact on the play, adding to the contentious rivalry between the two former Pac-12 teams. Earlier in May, an assistant coach from each team was ejected during a series in Eugene.
The Ducks took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning when Burke-Lee Mabeus and Naulivou Lauaki hit back-to-back home runs. Oregon had one runner reach base in the final five innings.
UCLA defeated Purdue in the quarterfinals on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Mulivai Levu and his three-run home run in the ninth inning knocked off USC in the semifinals.
Oregon, like UCLA, is a second-year member of the Big Ten.
Up next
The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Monday. ___
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
