UCLA wins – No. 1 UCLA edged No. 12 Oregon 3-2 in the Big Ten Tournament title game after a contentious hit-by-pitch decision that sent the winning run across the plate in the bottom of the 11th inning. The call survived a lengthy review, capping UCLA’s record-setting reg
When the pitch came in high and inside with the bases loaded and two outs, it looked like one more close play in a game that had already stretched the length of a full evening. Instead, the moment became the finish.
No. 1 UCLA capped its 2026 regular season with a 3-2 victory over No. 12 Oregon in the Big Ten conference title game on Sunday, May 24. The winning run scored in the bottom of the 11th inning after a hit-by-pitch that turned on centimeters.
Bruins second baseman Phoenix Call took a pitch from Ducks reliever Devin Bell, high and inside, with the bases loaded and two outs. After the play, Call turned toward home plate umpire Rick Allen. Allen ruled that Call had been hit by the pitch, bringing in Roman Martin from third base.
The moment didn’t end on the spot. The play was reviewed for several minutes before the ruling was upheld.
For UCLA. it was more than a late comeback—though it arrived after a game that already felt like it had been decided by the thinnest margins. It was the first-ever Big Ten Tournament championship for UCLA, which is in its second season in the league. The Bruins finished the regular season with a 51-6 record and are virtually assured of the No. 1 national seed for the 2026 NCAA Tournament field, which will be unveiled on Monday, May 25.
The decision at home plate also closed the book on a rivalry game that had already tested tempers. The hit-by-pitch call ended what had been a contentious matchup between former Pac-12 foes. In their earlier meeting. Oregon beat UCLA 9-6 on May 9. and the rematch carried that same heat into the late innings.
Tensions flared further during Sunday’s game. UCLA outfielder Will Gasparino, a first-team All-Big Ten honoree, was ejected in the fourth inning for malicious contact. The ejection came after he got caught in a pickle and plowed over Ducks third baseman Drew Smith.
Oregon’s own controversy arrived when the Ducks were chasing a tie. Oregon catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after admiring a solo home run that tied the game in the top of the sixth inning.
The sequence of late-inning decisions—heated exchanges. ejections. and then a prolonged review at the plate—made the final outcome feel less like a typical championship ending and more like a judgment preserved in real time. When the review confirmed what home plate umpire Rick Allen had already called. Roman Martin’s run became the difference that UCLA carried into a first Big Ten Tournament title.
By the time the final out came, UCLA didn’t just claim a trophy. It also secured the kind of momentum that matters as the NCAA Tournament selection approaches, with the No. 1 national seed already nearly within reach as the field is set to be revealed on Monday, May 25.
UCLA baseball Oregon Ducks Big Ten Tournament hit-by-pitch Phoenix Call Roman Martin Rick Allen Devin Bell 2026 NCAA Tournament seed