Day Five of the Men’s College World Series could not begin until the final six innings of yesterday’s winners bracket had concluded, with that game resuming at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Each day of the 2025 CWS has improved upon the last, getting better and better to a point where you may have thought that the action had to hit a peak. Monday looked to be that day, when the first no-hitter in Omaha in 65 years was recorded, followed by UCLA and LSU exploding out of the gates to set up a high scoring affair in the winners bracket game of Bracket Two. However, the infamous CWS thunderstorm that fans can usually set their watch to rolled in a few days late, resulting in a suspension in play that cut the best day of this year’s series short.
What that ended up meaning, if you’re into silver linings, is that Tuesday had even more baseball to be played. And if the previous four days of the series indicated anything, it was that Tuesday would become the most action-packed day of the 2025 College World Series yet. LSU and UCLA – mainly LSU – picked up right where they left off, starting the day with more high-flying offense. The full recap of that game and the rest of Day Four’s historic action can be found on the Grow Omaha website.
Finally, Oregon State and Louisville were up for their second matchup of this CWS. The first game between these two teams was highlighted by a walk-off double from Oregon State’s Gavin Turley that negated Louisville’s comeback in the top of the ninth inning and sent the Cardinals into the losers bracket. Louisville then knocked out Arizona, that game completing the late-inning comeback to stay alive and meet Oregon State once more, this time in the losers bracket following OSU’s loss to Coastal Carolina. In Game Nine of the CWS, the Cardinals were out for sweet revenge, with both teams seasons at stake.
Louisville struck first when Eddie King Jr. singled into left field with two outs, scoring Alex Alicea to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
In the top of the second, OSU looked primed to erase that lead with two runners in scoring position and Canon Reeder at the plate with two outs.
Louisville pitcher Brennyn Cutts paid no mind, striking out Reeder to put the threat to bed and maintain the Cardinals lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, Jake Munroe stretched the Cardinals lead with a two-run home run into left-center. For the first time in this CWS, Louisville had the early lead, 3-0
Jacob Krieg brought Oregon State back into the game with a two-run home run to left field in the top of the fourth inning, and finally, one of the country’s best home run hitting teams looked like it.
That home run incited a pitching change for Louisville, and Justin West came in to retire the next three batters to get the Cardinals into the bottom of the fourth, still holding a narrow 3-2 lead.
In the first at-bat of the bottom of the fourth inning, Zion Rose sent his second home run of this year’s CWS into left field to pad Louisville’s lead. Eventually, Oregon State escaped the inning without any additional damage.
After a quiet fifth inning for both teams, Oregon State drew blood again in the top of the sixth. Canon Reeder reached base on a fielder’s choice, scoring AJ Singer from third base and bringing the game back within one run, 4-3.
Louisville instantly responded in the bottom of the frame. With Garret Pike standing on second base, Sunday’s hero Kamau Neighbors singled to right field to bring Pike home, once again extending Louisville’s lead to 5-3 prior to the end of the inning.
After holding OSU in check in the top of the seventh, Louisville added another run to its lead on an Eddie King Jr. flyout that scored the tagging Matt Klein from third base.
A scoreless eighth inning meant that the game was 6-3 in favor of Louisville and Oregon State was down to its last three chances for a College World Series title.
Facing closer Wyatt Danilowicz, Aiva Arquette got the scoring started for OSU in the ninth when he launched a leadoff solo home run into left-center.
Oregon State placed the next two batters on base, prompting Dan McDonnell to bring in Louisville’s leading closer Tucker Biven to put the game away.
AJ Singer then singled into right field to load the bases with no outs for the Beavers. Pressure was mounting for the Cardinals despite holding a 6-4 lead.
In the following at-bat, Tyce Peterson hit a routine dribbler towards shortstop Alex Alicea. The play would surely score one but looked like a sure-fire double play ball.
Alicea was trying to run before he walked, and the ball snuck around his glove and into the outfield, scoring the game’s tying runs and leaving the bases loaded, still with no outs. Louisville was watching its season slip away before its eyes.
Tucker Biven locked in, retiring the next three batters to move into the bottom of the ninth, and now it was Louisville trying to walk the game off after surrendering a late lead.
Louisville returned the favor to Oregon State, loading the bases with no outs to force a pitching change to Zach Edwards.
Fittingly, Alex Alicea was standing on third base, hoping to atone for the error earlier in the inning that got him in this position.
Edwards struck out Jake Munroe for the first out of the frame, both teams clinging to life.
Eddie King Jr. stepped up to the plate next, and he sent a high fly ball to center field that brought elation to the Louisville faithful and devastation to Oregon State. His sacrifice fly scored Alex Alicea, and all was well for Louisville.
A final score of 7-6 capped arguably the most exciting game in the College World Series so far, sending Louisville to Game Eleven against Coastal Carolina Wednesday at 1 p.m. Oregon State climbed all the way back to fall just short, bookending their stay in Omaha in walk-off fashion, this time for the worse.
Player of the Game: RF Eddie King Jr. – Went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBI, the biggest coming to walk the game off in the ninth inning.
Game Ten was another elimination game between Arkansas and UCLA, the second elimination game for Arkansas in as many days. It was UCLA’s second game of Tuesday, as the Bruins concluded the last six innings of their winners matchup bout versus LSU just six hours prior. Now, they were fighting to stay alive and advance to Wednesday’s game against the Tigers – oh, how much can change in a day.
Arkansas threw its ace Zach Root – yes, Gage Wood, who threw the third no-hitter in College World Series history Monday, was not the only elite arm in that bullpen.
Root got in trouble early, loading the bases with just one out in the top of the first inning. Following a lineout to short by AJ Salgado, Dean West pressed the issue, attempting to steal home on Root with two outs. Root got the ball home easily, allowing catcher Ryder Helfrick to tag West out and get off the field. UCLA challenged, and the call on the field was confirmed despite looking closer than it first appeared.
In the bottom of the frame, Arkansas applied pressure. Star shortstop Wehiwa Aloy followed a Charles Davalan single with a home run into the UCLA bullpen in right field, and the Razorbacks were up early, 2-0.
Following quiet innings in the second and third where only three total runners reached base, Mulivai Levu started off the fourth inning for UCLA by reaching first base on a throwing error by Arkansas third baseman Brent Iredale. Not for long though. Levu rounded first but changed his mind when Cam Kozeal did his duty in backing up the first baseman on the errant throw. While attempting to get back to the bag, Levu slipped and was subsequently tagged out after Kozeal got the ball back to first baseman Reese Robinett.
Iredale redeemed himself in the next at-bat by snagging a hard-hit line drive to his glove side, and then the hometown kid Kozeal fielded a routine ground ball for the final out of the inning, sending Arkansas to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Arkansas went three-up, three-down, and with the game just 2-0 in their favor, it was still up for grabs for either team.
UCLA made its first real threat of the game in the fifth inning, where it put two runners in scoring position with two outs. On a ground ball by Dean West, it was the Omaha native Kozeal once again making the play to end that threat and bring Arkansas up to the plate, searching for insurance.
Who else but Wehiwa Aloy to add that insurance? Aloy, down to his last strike with two outs in the inning, nuked a ball that nearly went over the center field wall. Payton Brennan attempted to make a play on it, but as the ball ricocheted off the top of the wall while Brennan was sliding the other way, Aloy was on his way to third for his second triple of the year, scoring Brent Iredale from third.
The third pitcher of the inning for UCLA, Cal Randall, came in for cleanup duty two batters later and guided the Bruins out of the inning by coaxing a pop fly by Ryder Helfrick. UCLA was back up to the plate with work to do, now down 3-0 with time in its season dwindling.
Zach Root was replaced in the sixth inning by teammate Aiden Jimenez after pitching five flawless innings. Root, Arkansas’ ace, did his best to imitate Gage Wood’s performance from a day prior. Though that historic outing was impossible to replicate, Root had an impressive start of his own, pitching five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out five batters.
Jimenez picked up right where Root left off, facing the minimum through two innings of relief, striking out two along the way.
With UCLA shut out through seven, defense was key to keep the game in reach.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Arkansas had a runner on third base with two outs. When Wehiwa Aloy stepped up to the plate, UCLA opted to walk him and avoid a repeat of the fifth, when Aloy tripled to center and tallied his third RBI of the game.
Logan Maxwell took offense to that and decided to add to the Razorbacks’ lead himself with a bases-clearing double in the left-center gap, bringing the lead to 5-0 and the game farther out of reach for UCLA.
Jack O’Connor relieved Chris Grothues after that, making it the second time in the game that UCLA threw three pitchers in a single inning. O’Connor struck out Ryder Helfrick to end the inning, and UCLA was up to bat with just six outs left to generate a healthy dose of offense.
UCLA threatened early in the eighth inning, placing runners on the corners with one out. One pitch later, Roch Cholowsky sent a chopping ground ball to short, and Wehiwa Aloy turned a double play to end the inning and tighten Arkansas’ grip on the game, leaving UCLA one more opportunity to come back in the ninth.
Before that opportunity, Arkansas still had the bottom of the eighth to increase its lead, and it did with two outs when Cam Kozeal scored from third base on a wild pitch. That was the Omaha native’s first time crossing home plate in the CWS and increased the Razorbacks’ lead to 6-0.
Brent Iredale walked on the following pitch, and while stealing second a few pitches later, he advanced to third base on a throwing error by the catcher trying to catch him in the act.
Justin Thomas Jr. kept up the assault of UCLA’s pitchers, doubling down the left field line to bring home Iredale and stretch the lead even wider.
Charles Davalan popped up in the next at-bat to short for the final out of the inning, and with the game now 7-0 in favor of Arkansas going into the top of the ninth, Will McEntire climbed the mound to attempt to put the Bruins away.
UCLA finally showed signs of life in the ninth inning. A leadoff triple by Mulivai Levu ignited the Bruins’ offense and two batters later, AJ Salgado moved him across the plate when his ground ball was too hot to handle for Brent Iredale at third base. Salgado advanced to second on the error.
Then, Payton Brennan hit a short chopper that brought trouble to pitcher Will McEntire. Sped up trying to get the throw to first in time, McEntire sailed it, allowing Salgado to score and Brennan to advance to second, the game now 7-2.
With two outs in the inning and Brennan now on third following a flyout to center field, a wild pitch by McEntire brought Brennan safely home, and the score to 7-3.
A lineout to center field by Phoenix Call represented the final out of the game and of UCLA’s season after the valiant comeback effort by the Bruins.
Arkansas held on to its large ninth inning lead to advance to play LSU once again on Wednesday night, and UCLA became the fourth team eliminated from the 2025 Men’s College World Series.
Player of the Game: SS Wehiwa Aloy – Aloy batted 2-for-3 with a home run, a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored. The one at-bat in which he didn’t record a hit, he was intentionally walked, likely due to the damage he had already done at the plate.
Today spelled redemption for the Louisville Cardinals, more specifically shortstop Alex Alicea. After their walk-off loss in their first game against Oregon State, they paid back the Beavers with a walk-off of their own. Alex Alicea, after making the error that evaporated Louisville’s lead and tied the game, scored the game’s winning run to redeem himself and send the Cardinals to Game Eleven against Coastal Carolina on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Louisville will need to beat Coastal Carolina to advance to the College World Series finals. This Louisville team has continued to show resilience all year, and will need just that to defeat the Chanticleers, who are the hottest team in town and on a 25-game winning streak.
Utter heartbreak for Oregon State. The Beavers were on the brink of an incredible comeback that would save their season and were served sweet revenge at the hands of a team they had already beaten once in this field. In its first season as an independent, Oregon State proved that it could hang with anybody, and despite falling short, they provided some of the most memorable moments in this year’s College World Series. That’s something to hang your hat on, and they will be remembered by college baseball fanatics for years to come – for better or worse.
UCLA got a bad break when ill-timed weather thwarted any momentum it may have still carried in the winners bracket game that began last night and ended this morning. To win a College World Series title though, teams must carry the grit to overcome the unexpected. At the end of the day, the Bruins’ pitching staff could not handle the star-studded offenses of favorites Arkansas and LSU, and it sent them packing.
Arkansas has battled back from its Game One loss to earn a rematch with LSU, where it will play its third game in as many days. The Razorbacks are prepared to give the Tigers, who have hardly been touched in the CWS, all they can handle. There is a reason the two SEC foes were favorites in this year’s CWS, with both clubs headlined by stellar pitching staffs and a plethora MLB talent behind them in the field. LSU will likely throw the nation’s No. 1 pitching prospect Kade Anderson to avoid the winner-take-all game on Friday. Arkansas has two top 50 prospects with pitchers Zach Root and Gage Wood. Facing elimination, expect those two to see action against the Tigers. Arkansas and LSU will play in Game Twelve at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
