Bruins Receive Bullpen Reinforcements Ahead of College World Series

Ahead of their first-round matchup against Murray State in the College World Series, the UCLA Bruins are bolstering their bullpen by getting back junior right hander Cody Delvecchio, who returns to the team after becoming academically eligible to compete.

Delvecchio last pitched on March, 28 against Purdue. This season, the junior has thrown 33.0 innings and posted a 6.82 ERA and 36 strikeouts over seven appearances this season before becoming academically ineligible after UCLA's winter quarter.

LA Times reporter Benjamin Royer noted on X (formerly Twitter) that Delvecchio will most likely become a relief pitcher for the Bruins' CWS run, just like he was during his freshman and sophomore seasons in Westwood.

Last season, Delvecchio made 16 appearances and had a 2.42 ERA over 26.0 innings, striking out 27 batters while walking 11.

The Bruins are making their first trip to Omaha since 2013, when they won their first and only national championship, and will take on Murray State in the first round of their double-elimination tournament on Saturday, June 14 at 11 a.m. PT on ESPN.

UCLA and Murray State will be joined by No. 6 ranked LSU and No. 3 ranked Arkansas in their double-elimination bracket in Omaha.

The winners and loser of each game will face off against each other on Monday, June 16, at 4 p.m. and 11 a.m. PT respectively.

The second bracket of the College World Series consists of No. 8 Oregon State, Louisville, No. 13 Coastal Carolina and Arizona. All eight teams going into Omaha will cut down to just two to compete in the national championship.

"This is surreal to me," UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky said following the Omaha-clinching win over UTSA. "It's just something that I've dreamed of as long as I could remember. Getting to go experience [the CWS] a couple years ago just added that much more fire to the dream.

"I haven't wrapped my head around it. It's something that I'm never going to forget. But, I mean, we're not done yet. We're going there to play our game of baseball and just take it other teams, so I'm looking forward to that."

This will be Cholowsky's first trip to Omaha and UCLA's sixth in program history. Bruins coach John Savage will be making his fourth CWS appearance in 21 seasons at the helm in Westwood.

"It wasn't our goal to just get to Omaha," Savage said. "We've talked a lot about going and playing well, taking our game to whoever we play. I'm really excited for the guys, excited for the alumni, the fans. I'm excited for everyone involved. At the end of the day, it's an appreciation on my behalf towards a lot of people."