The Virginia Tech baseball team was eliminated from the 2026 NCAA Los Angeles Regional after a 6-5 loss to top-seeded UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium on May 30. The Hokies, seeded second, held a 5-3 lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning but were walked off by the Bruins, ending their postseason run.
Virginia Tech (30-26) kept pace with UCLA throughout the game, relying on solo home runs from Owen Petrich in the fifth inning, Ethan Gibson in the seventh, and Ethan Ball in the eighth. Petrich’s homer tied the game at two after UCLA scored twice in the fourth. Gibson’s shot leveled it again at three before Ball gave Virginia Tech a one-run advantage with six outs remaining.
In relief pitching efforts during the eighth inning, Griffin Stieg and Madden Clement held UCLA scoreless. In their half of the ninth, Gibson led off with a double and later scored on Hudson Lutterman’s RBI single off Easton Hawk, giving Virginia Tech its largest lead of the contest.
However, momentum shifted quickly as Mulivai Levu and Roman Martin hit back-to-back solo home runs for UCLA to tie it at five runs apiece to start their half of the ninth. After reliever Ethan Grim took over for Clement on the mound for Virginia Tech, Phoenix Call delivered a walk-off RBI single through a five-man Hokies infield.
Junior right-hander Brett Renfrow started for Virginia Tech and threw four innings after opening with three scoreless frames. He allowed two runs on five hits while issuing four walks before leaving following his 94th pitch as UCLA posted two runs during his final inning.
