Torpedo bats – also called bowling pin bats for their shape – have taken MLB by storm this season.
However, it’s not always about what’s nice and new, but what’s tried and true.
While the torpedo bats have yet to make their way to the collegiate level, the Bruins can essentially take their pick of the litter from Rawlings and Easton’s line of 2025 baseball bats.
But sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky has continuously opted to use a 2020 Easton Fuze 360 – a bat he said he inherited from former Bruin middle infielders and 2024 MLB Draft picks Cody Schrier and Duce Gourson.
And Cholowsky’s two-run shot to left center in the bottom of the fourth – using the aforementioned hand-me-down – was the game-winner in No. 10 UCLA baseball’s (27-7, 11-3 Big Ten) series-evening 7-3 victory over Washington (18-18, 9-5) on Saturday at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The sophomore shortstop’s 10th homer of the season tied him for the team lead alongside sophomore first baseman Mulivai Levu, simultaneously ending Cholowsky’s short-lived 0-for-7 slump.
“Just sticking with my approach,” Cholowsky said. “Thought I had a good approach yesterday, just got a little outside myself at times. … Being strong mentally helped me today.
After calling Friday night’s 5-2 loss “sloppy,” John Savage got his team to turn things around Saturday – which also happened to be the coach’s grandson’s first UCLA game.
“We bounced back,” Savage said. “We ran the pitch count up against a real good pitcher. … It seemed like we were much more connected offensively.”
While Savage added that the Bruins squandered their fair share of opportunities – leaving 10 on base and going 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position – they hit enough and pitched well enough to win the ballgame.
Junior right-hander Michael Barnett allowed two runs over his five innings of work, earning his team-leading seventh win of the season, before turning it over to the bullpen.
Redshirt junior southpaw Ian May took the next three innings, surrendering just one hit – shortstop Sam DeCarlo’s solo shot in the eighth. After starting the season with a 5.74 ERA across four starts, May has a 2.28 ERA across 23.2 innings since losing his spot in the weekend rotation.
“It’s funny,” Savage said. “We didn’t quite know what was going on early on, and he was scuffling. And he wasn’t making pitches. He had very little inner-half presence with the fastball. So he’s turned the corner a little bit. We needed him.”
The top four hitters in the Bruins’ lineup – sophomores left fielder Dean West, Cholowsky, Levu and third baseman Roman Martin – all registered multi-hit performances, with West’s go-ahead RBI single in the third extending his hitting streak to 10 games.
The left fielder is hitting .475 over his streak and .384 over his last 18 games – with a .306 batting average and .469 OBP on the season.
“Just swing at the right pitches, and just understanding who I am as a hitter,” West said. “The approach that coach Ward (assistant coach Bryant Ward) provides for us gives us a good scouting report – what pitches we should be hunting for during the AB (at-bat).”
Husky center fielder Malakhi Knight attempted to inch his team within striking distance in the eighth – launching a flyball to straightaway center – but redshirt senior center fielder AJ Salgado made a leaping grab at the wall to rob the former Bruin of a solo shot.
And despite Knight’s decision to leave Westwood after last season, Savage said he’s happy to see the top recruit of his 2021 class succeeding with another program.
“I hope I get a chance to say hello tomorrow,” Savage said. “Mal – really, really good kid. Great family. He was banged up here. … I wish him the best.”
Additionally, Savage said redshirt sophomore center fielder Payton Brennan has missed the past three games with a hamstring injury and the flu.
The Bruins will send sophomore right-hander Landon Stump to the hill for Sunday’s rubber match. UCLA has lost just one of Stump’s eight starts this season, but if it can rebound from last Sunday’s defeat to San Diego, it’ll secure its ninth weekend series of the season.
Savage said the key for Stump will be establishing his fastball so his secondary pitches can thrive, adding that at his best, Stump is able to blend and sequence his pitches to get hitters out.
“It’s going to be a dog fight,” Savage said.
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