The Bruins let their opponent score first for the 22nd time this season Sunday – but for the 15th time this year, it didn’t matter.

A three-run Husky third was met with a three-run Bruin third.

Then, a three-run Bruin fourth.

And a three-run Bruin fifth.

Though Washington (18-19, 9-6 Big Ten) would manage a three-run seventh and ninth, No. 10 UCLA baseball’s (28-7, 12-3) two-run seventh and eighth were enough to secure a 13-9 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium. For the fourth time this season, the Bruins responded to a series-opening Friday loss with wins on Saturday and Sunday, securing their ninth straight weekend series of the 2025 campaign and 15th comeback victory of the season.

“You got to roll with the punches, and that’s what we’re doing,” said coach John Savage. “It was a big weekend for us to come back.”

Former Bruin center fielder Malakhi Knight got the scoring started, as the current Husky singled to center in the top of the third before a fielding error by redshirt senior center fielder AJ Salgado allowed Husky first baseman Casen Taggart to score from first. Shortstop Sam DeCarlo then followed with his second homer of the series – a two-run shot toward the right field foul pole that put Washington up by three.

But sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky put the Bruins on the board with his second homer in as many days – Sunday’s was a solo shot wall-scrapper just beyond the 330 sign in left – and his team didn’t stop there.

“We just had some really good at-bats, and we kind of carried that throughout the day,” Savage said. “Felt like we needed to, you know?”

Junior outfielder Jarrod Hocking – making his third straight start Sunday – had his second straight multi-hit performance against the Huskies, delivering an RBI single in the third and a two-RBI single in the fourth.

“When I’m not trying to do too much and I’m keeping things simplified is when I’m at my best,” Hocking said.

UCLA’s one through seven hitters all recorded a hit Sunday, with five recording multi-hit games. Cholowsky went 4-for-5 with 11 total bases and five RBIs while sophomore third baseman Roman Martin went 2-for-4 with a walk and his second homer of the year – a two-run blast in the fifth.

“We just got back to who we are, you know, just playing baseball how we do,” Hocking said. “Just passing it to the next guy, putting our trust in each other and good things will happen.”

The Bruins appeared to do just that – recording seven two-out hits while going 10-for-24 with runners on and 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position Sunday.

But that trust wasn’t just limited to the Bruins in the lineup, as the team employed five pitchers to get through nine innings of work, albeit with mixed results.

“It wasn’t as clean as certainly we wanted it to be,” Savage said. “But I thought Grothues (redshirt sophomore left-hander Chris Grothues) had a really good weekend out of the bullpen – that was encouraging.”

After tossing two perfect innings Friday, Grothues relieved sophomore right-hander Landon Stump with one out in the fifth, inheriting the bases loaded with the go-ahead run at the plate. The southpaw got DeCarlo to chase an off-speed pitch down and away before freezing designated hitter Braeden Terry with a fastball at the knees to escape the inning unscathed.

“Honestly, after coming back from an injury like Tommy John and then another setback like a meniscus tear, I just told myself I’m not going to worry about what happens,” said Grothues. “I’m going to just trust the process, trust the coaches and then just go pitch to pitch.”

Injuries limited the redshirt sophomore to just one appearance across his first two seasons at UCLA, but Sunday’s effort earned him his first collegiate win.

“We have one of the best defenses in the nation,” Grothues said. “All seven guys behind me and then Blake (sophomore catcher Blake Balsz) and Cash (sophomore Cashel Dugger) behind the dish – I trust them.”

Overall, the bullpen posted a mixed bag of seven strikeouts, four walks, seven hits and two hit by pitches – surrendering six runs. Sophomore right-hander Justin Lee saw extended action in the closing frames, throwing a career-high 57 pitches across two innings of work before Knight flew out to left field, ending the ballgame with the tying run in the on-deck circle.

Ultimately the Bruins – who’ve retained their top spot in the Big Ten standings this weekend – will wave goodbye to Knight and the Huskies, with UCLA winning a series against Washington for the first time since 2019.

“I like Mal as a person and certainly as a player … and I’m really pulling for him,” Savage said. “Obviously, we’re trying to get him out and this and that, but he played well this weekend, so I was happy for him. I really was.”

UCLA will host Oregon State on Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Stadium – the finale of its nine-game homestand.