Sports
UCLA opens its College World Series slate with victory over Murray State
OMAHA, Neb. — The warm wind was blowing into Charles Schwab Field and UCLA freshman Wylan Moss threw a changeup. Dean West knew he could make a play on that pitch.
Sure enough, Murray State’s Dominic Decker sent a liner to shallow left. West got a jump on it and anticipated. With the wind knocking the ball down, the sophomore outfielder dove and extended his glove. He slid across the manicured outfield grass and held up his glove to show Omaha he stranded two runners and ended the rally.
At that point Murray State scored its first run of the game but still trailed UCLA by five runs. The Cinderella fourth seed kept scrapping runs together, forcing the Bruins to use six pitchers. Their lead narrowed up until closer Easton Hawk came in the ninth and shut the door. UCLA held on to a 6-4 win on Saturday afternoon in its first College World Series appearance in 12 years.
The Bruins will play the winner of Saturday night’s game between Louisiana State and Arkansas.
“It wasn’t an easy victory,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “We pitched out of some problems today.”
Bruins starter Michael Barnett threw 28 pitches in the first inning. Three of the first four batters he faced worked full counts. But he worked through 4⅔ innings without yielding a run until Moss came on in relief. Barnett finished with three hits, four walks and four strikeouts.
UCLA celebrates its 6-4 win against Murray State at the College World Series on Saturday.
(Cory Eads / Associated Press)
Moss gave up two hits and one run with West’s diving catch as his only out recorded. Ian May stepped in with a runner on to start the sixth and conceded one hit. Jack O’Connor stepped in to pitch two-hit ball in 2/3 of an inning. Freshman righty August Souza got the call and gave up two runs on a hit and a walk in the eighth.
“O’Connor got in trouble. Moss got in trouble. Souza got in trouble. Really the only one who didn’t get in trouble is Hawk,” Savage recited after the game. “It’s baseball. It’s Omaha. You expect trouble.”
Murray State’s four runs came on nine hits — same as UCLA — with nine left on base. The Racers didn’t score until the fifth inning. Then one in the sixth and two in the eighth. A slow bleed of runs that could have mounted if not for defensive plays such as West’s diving snag or multiple stops by UCLA second baseman Phoenix Call.
“I thought we put a lot of pressure on. Just a couple of breaks didn’t go our way,” Murray State senior center fielder Jonathan Hogart said. “They made some phenomenal plays. Again, those plays were phenomenal and killed momentum.”
UCLA’s Mulivai Levu runs to first base against Murray State on Saturday.
(Cory Eads / Associated Press)
UCLA sophomore third baseman Roman Martin said: “We knew it was going to be tough and defense is really a separator, especially in these big games.”
Martin also supplied some of UCLA’s offensive firepower. He was one of two Bruins with multiple RBIs, including the bases loaded walk with no outs in the bottom of the first. But that one run is all the Bruins could manage in the opening inning.
West, one of two Bruins with multiple hits on Saturday, sent a line drive over the first baseman’s glove in the second inning to score one. But instead of settling at first, he rounded the bag too much and got thrown out trying to get back.
The left fielder scored his second hit in the fourth inning to put runners on the corners with superstar Roch Cholowsky stepping to the plate.
Savage made it clear afterward that he didn’t tell Cholowsky to bunt. A Murray State assistant told coach Dan Skirka the shortstop wouldn’t lay one down. The Bruins’ leader in hits, runs, doubles, home runs and slugging percentage squared on the first pitch of the at bat. The ball sluggishly rolled to the pitcher on the third-base side, forcing Nic Schutte to throw across his body to get the out at first and not at home plate.
“It led to four runs, kind of the difference in the game,” Savage said.
Martin followed Cholowsky with an RBI single and AJ Salgado emptied the bases with a two-run double before the fourth inning ended. UCLA led 6-0 and those six runs were all the Bruins needed.
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An intense brawl broke out during the Eagles-Commanders game in the fourth quarter Saturday night, resulting in three ejections.
The fight began after Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley scored on a 2-point conversion to boost his team’s lead to 19 points with less than five minutes left.
Washington’s Javon Kinlaw and Quan Martin and Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen were disqualified after being flagged for unnecessary roughness.
There was some pushing and shoving and a lot of jawing, and officials threw six flags as the chaos ensued.
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Tyler Steen (56) of the Philadelphia Eagles and Mike Sainristil (0) of the Washington Commanders fight in the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Eventually, order was restored, and Barkley, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner spoke to each other.
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The Eagles won the game, 29-18, to clinch their second straight division title, becoming the first team to win back-to-back NFC East titles since the 2004 Eagles did it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close could not have imagined a better way for her team to wrap up nonconference play than Saturday afternoon’s 106-44 trouncing of Long Beach State at Pauley Pavilion.
Coming off Tuesday’s 115-28 triumph over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo — UCLA’s largest margin of victory during the NCAA era — the Bruins picked up where they left off, leading wire-to-wire for their fifth consecutive win since suffering their lone loss to Texas on Nov. 26.
“We’re growing … we had a couple of lapses today and we’re not there yet, but we’re heading in the right direction,” Close said. “I love the selflessness of this team.”
Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez led the way with 17 points and made five of six three-point shots. Angela Dugalic added 13 points while Gianna Kneepkens had 10 points and 10 rebounds. All 11 Bruins who played scored at least one basket.
UCLA forward Sienna Betts, top, and Long Beach State forward Kennan Ka dive for the ball during the Bruins’ win Saturday.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
Playing their last game in Westwood until Jan. 3, when they will host crosstown rival USC, the Bruins (11-1 overall, 1-0 in Big Ten) looked every bit like the No. 4 team in the country, improving to 6-0 at home. They are ranked fourth in both the Associated Press and coaches polls behind Connecticut, Texas and South Carolina.
“I’m really proud of our nonconference schedule. Not many local teams are willing to play us, so I want to compliment Long Beach State,” Close said. “Our starting guards [Charlisse Leger-Walker and Kiki Rice] combined for 17 assists and one turnover. We have depth and balance and that’s a great luxury to have.”
Jaquez scored nine of the Bruins’ first 12 points. She opened the scoring with a three-pointer from the top of the key and added triples on back-to-back possessions to increase the margin to eight points. Her fourth three-pointer, from the right corner, extended the lead to 21-5.
Sienna Betts’ jumper in the lane put UCLA up by 19 at the end of the first quarter. The sophomore finished with 14 points and senior Lauren Betts added 17. The sisters’ parents, Michelle and Andy, played volleyball and basketball, respectively, for Long Beach State. Sienna wears her mom’s No. 16 while Lauren dons her dad’s No. 51.
Rice’s steal and layup made it 46-18 with 3:28 left in the first half and Leger-Walker’s tip-in at the buzzer gave the Bruins a 34-point advantage at halftime. Rice had a complete game, contributing 15 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, four steals and one block.
The result continued the Bruins’ recent dominance against the Beach. UCLA has won six straight head-to-head meetings, including a 51-point blowout in the schools’ previous matchup last December, when Close became the all-time winningest coach in program history by earning her 297th victory to surpass Billie Moore (296-181). Long Beach State has not beaten the Bruins since 1987 under Joan Bonvicini, who posted a 16-1 record versus UCLA in her 12 seasons at the Beach from 1979 to 1991.
The Bruins’ primary focus on defense was slowing down sophomore guard JaQuoia Jones-Brown, who entered Saturday averaging 17.2 points per game. She scored 10 of the Beach’s 11 points in the first quarter but was held scoreless the rest of the way. She has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games. Guard Christy Reynoso added six points for Beach (0-10 overall, 0-2 in Big West).
The Bruins travel to Columbus on Dec. 28 to face No. 21 Ohio State (9-1).
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Despite dropping their regular-season finale to in-state rival Texas, the Texas A&M Aggies qualified for the College Football Playoff and earned the right to host a first-round game at Kyle Field.
Nick Saban, who won seven national championships during his storied coaching career, experienced his fair share of hostile environments on road trips.
But the former Alabama coach and current ESPN college football analyst floated a surprising theory about how Texas A&M turns up the volume to try to keep opposing teams off balance.
A view of the midfield logo before the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the LSU Tigers at Kyle Field on Oct. 26, 2024 in College Station, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
While Saban did describe Kyle Field as one of the sport’s “noisiest” atmospheres, he also claimed the stadium’s operators have leaned on artificial crowd noise to pump up the volume during games.
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“I did more complaining to the SEC office—it was more than complaining that I don’t really want to say on this show—about this is the noisiest place. Plus, they pipe in noise… You can’t hear yourself think when you’re playing out there,” he told Pat McAfee on Thursday afternoon.
Adding crowd noise during games does not explicitly violate NCAA rules. However, the policy does mandate a certain level of consistency.
A general view of Kyle Field before the start of the game between Texas A&M Aggies and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Kyle Field on Oct. 12, 2019 in College Station, Texas. (John Glaser/USA TODAY Sports)
According to the governing body’s rulebook: “Artificial crowd noise, by conference policy or mutual consent of the institutions, is allowed. The noise level must be consistent throughout the game for both teams. However, all current rules remain in effect dealing with bands, music and other sounds. When the snap is imminent, the band/music must stop playing. As with all administrative rules, the referee may stop the game and direct game management to adjust.”
General view of fans watch the play in the first half between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Ball State Cardinals at Kyle Field on Sept. 12, 2015 in College Station, Texas. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Regardless of the possible presence of artificial noise, the Miami Hurricanes will likely face a raucous crowd when Saturday’s first-round CFP game kicks off at 12 p.m. ET.
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