Hitting two grand slams in just 11 games to start the year, UCLA sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky has put on a show for Bruins fans this season.
He might’ve had the most impressive performance in his young career Sunday, hitting two home runs and driving in four of UCLA’s runs in the Bruins’ 5-1 victory over USC to close out the Southern California College Baseball Classic.
“We just got to make better pitches in those moments,” USC head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. “[Cholowsky] is a big, young hitter and that’s what good hitters do. If you make mistakes they make you pay, so it’s just a matter of just making the right pitch at the right time and knowing what you’re trying to do there.”
Cholowsky’s first home run broke the narrative of what was initially a pitcher’s duel for both teams. UCLA led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, looking to break through USC’s freshman reliever Andrew Johnson in his second inning of work.
Johnson’s first inning out of the bullpen in relief of junior Michael Ebner was spotless, but he ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning allowing a hit to sophomore third baseman Roman Martin and walking left fielder Dean West.
With two runners on and only one out, Cholowsky turned inside on a hanging breaking ball, crushing it 405 feet off of a construction fence in left center field. Cholowsky’s moon ball gave UCLA a 4-0 lead and energized the crowd on a cold and windy day with gusts as high as 14 mph.
USC was able to get a run back in the top of the seventh inning when freshman catcher John Elliott drove in fellow freshman Augie Lopez with a RBI single on a ground ball to center field, making it 4-1 Bruins. Elliott continued his hitting ways, notching his second multi-hit game on the weekend.
Cholowsky was able to continue his magic at the plate in his next at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning. He again turned on an inside pitch – this time a fastball – sneaking it over the left center field fence to make it 5-1.
The freshman All-American from last season had four of UCLA’s five RBIs on the day while collecting his second multi-home-run game of the young season.
While the Trojans had three more hits than UCLA – recording 10 on the day with four walks and a hit batter – but they were never able to put together consistent at-bats in order to drive in more than one run. USC went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base.
The Trojans had multiple scoring chances on the game exterminated by UCLA’s defense. In the top of the fourth inning, Lopez squared one up to the warning track in center field for a double. Sophomore first baseman Dean Carpentier was waved home, but a perfect relay by the Bruins’ sophomore second baseman Phoenix Call nailed Carpentier at the plate.
USC kept applying pressure later in the game. In the top of the seventh inning with runners on first and second with two outs, junior third baseman Ethan Hedges smoked a ball on the ground to the left side. Cholowsky backhanded the ball in the outfield and threw off balance to get the force play at third to curb the Trojans’ progress.
In the top ninth with a runner on first, time was running out for a comeback. Elliott squared up a pitch to deep left center field when UCLA redshirt sophomore center fielder Payton Brennan soared in the air like Superman to make a spectacular play. The Bruins closed out the game just three batters later.
It just wasn’t USC’s day thanks to an incredible defensive effort by the Bruins, and Cholowsky’s solo show in what was otherwise a successful weekend for the Trojans in the Southern California College Baseball Classic.
USC defeated UConn 8-5 on Friday night, then the Trojans upset No. 14 Vanderbilt 3-1 thanks to a career best 10 strikeouts in seven innings from senior starting pitcher Caden Aoki.
The Trojans also debuted new grey, script lettering uniforms Sunday in the Crosstown Showdown, a throwback to USC College World Series winning teams of the past.
Stankiewicz is trying to get USC back to their championship roots, and the Trojans have looked great to start the season going 9-2.
The past weekend against UConn, a super regional team from last season, No. 14 Vanderbilt and rival UCLA is just the start of a grueling stretch of ranked opponents for USC.
The Trojans take on No. 20 UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday at LMU’s Page Stadium, then open Big Ten play with a home series against No. 11 Oregon on Friday.