An unexpected Japanese tourist ended up at Jackie Robinson Stadium about a week before the 2025 season got underway, sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky said on Tuesday’s episode of the Bruin Insider Show.

Though the traveler was just watching practices at first, his love for baseball was evident and he eventually asked coach John Savage to try out. He eventually made his way into the Bruin clubhouse for a few days and helped field balls during batting practice.

The Bruins’ double celebration – where a player puts his arms over his head in the shape of a heart and bends one leg so his foot touches his opposite knee – came from the tourist, who said it was a sign of love.

“He’s like a little good luck charm,” said sophomore first baseman Mulivai Levu.

And though the traveler departed after the first week and a half of the season, his magic still seems to be lifting the Bruins.

UCLA baseball (18-5, 7-2 Big Ten) defeated Indiana (13-11, 5-4) by a score of 6-3 at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Sunday. The Bruins have won six straight weekend series to begin the season and are off to their best start through 23 games since 2019 – when they finished 52-11 and a win away from the College World Series.

“It was just a really good energy source for us,” Cholowsky said of the Japanese tourist’s presence early in the season. “Gave us something to look forward to every day. Just someone who loves the game of baseball. … It kind of gave us an eye-opening scenario where we got to see how great this game is.”

Cholowsky’s third hit of the game came in the bottom of the eighth when he ripped a pitch down the third base line and into the left field corner. Hoosier left fielder Devin Taylor’s throw beat Cholowsky to third base, but the sophomore’s acrobatic swim-move slide toward the left side of the bag avoided the third baseman’s tag.

“Just instinct,” Cholowsky said. “Saw the ball in the corner as I was rounding second – thought I could beat him. Left fielder made a good throw. Had to make something happen.”

Two batters later, sophomore third baseman Roman Martin singled through a drawn-in infield, scoring Cholowsky – which proved to be the game-winning run – and Levu, who intentionally walked.

UCLA’s Sunday starter, sophomore right-hander Landon Stump, earned his second-career win, tossing five innings of one-run ball against the Hoosiers before Savage turned it over to the bullpen.

Graduate student right-hander August Souza and redshirt junior left-hander Ian May combined for two innings, with the latter being charged one run, before junior right-hander Jack O’Connor finished the eighth against the top of Indiana’s order.

“O’Connor has now established himself as our eighth-inning guy,” Savage said. “And if you’re going to do that, you’ve got to go all in on it. … O’Connor has four pitches and he showed his whole menu against those guys to get them out.”

Sophomore right-hander Justin Lee pitched the ninth for his team-leading 13th appearance of the season. And after allowing a leadoff home run to Indiana shortstop Tyler Cerny, Lee retired the next three in a row, fanning two.

Savage said some of Lee’s early struggles in outings are a product of the shift in his role in the bullpen. Lee primarily served as a mop-up guy in his freshman campaign before becoming the Bruins’ closer this season.

“You can’t afford a closer to have a hitter or two to get going. That’s not championship stuff,” Savage said. “At the end of the day, I think he understands that. … He’s still learning, really, how to be a closer in a lot of ways. So it takes time.”

Lee said he’s found he doesn’t start making pitches until a runner reaches and is working on raising the intensity from the get-go.

However, UCLA’s closer has been able to find humor in his growing pains.

“I love giving up leadoff homers,” Lee said.