Michigan Battles, but Falls to No. 13 UCLA to Close Out Stay at Big Ten Tournament

Thursday, May 22

Omaha, Neb.

9:00 AM CT

Michigan

33-23

UCLA

41-15

Michigan

UCLA

Greg Pace Jr., left, and Benny Casillas (Mark Kuhlmann/Big Ten Conference)

Michigan Battles, but Falls to No. 13 UCLA to Close Out Stay at Big Ten Tournament

5/22/2025 2:32:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Conor Stemme

» Michigan fell 7-5 to UCLA in its Big Ten Tournament finale.
» Benny Casillas doubled and homered, scoring twice and bringing home three.
» Greg Pace Jr. scored three runs and had two hits, including a 440-foot home run to center field.
» Tate Carey allowed four runs and struck out six over six innings.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Despite hitting a pair of home runs and taking a late lead, the No. 7-seeded University of Michigan dropped its final pool-play game 7-5 to No. 13-ranked and No. 2 seed UCLA on Thursday morning (May 22) in its Big Ten Tournament finale at Charles Schwab Field.

The Wolverines (33-23) got home runs from Benny Casillas and Greg Pace Jr., with Casillas adding a double, a run and three RBI and Pace scoring two more runs and another hit. Noah Miller also tallied a two-hit day with a double and a single. Tate Carey started, allowing four runs on five hits and striking out six.

After both teams went down in order in the first, (41-15) opened the second inning with the first five batters reaching base to help take a 3-0 lead.

The Wolverines responded in the third inning, starting with a one-out Pace single. Casillas doubled, scoring from first base. After Brayden Jefferis was hit by a pitch, Mitch Voit singled to plate Casillas and cut the deficit to 3-2.

Carey settled in and pitched a 1-2-3 third inning with two strikeouts. A two-out Pace walk in the fourth was followed by Casillas sending a home run to left after fouling a pitch off his foot to give U-M a 4-3 lead.

U-M had another two-out chance in the fifth inning. Miller and Cole Caruso singled, and Joe Longo reached on an error to load the bases, but a flyout ended the inning. UCLA tied the game at five with a one-out solo homer.

Pace answered immediately with a 440-foot leadoff home run dead center field to open the sixth inning. Pace became just the eighth player to hit a ball to the batter's eye at Charles Schwab Field in 640 games played there.

Preston Barr started the seventh inning in place of Carey and allowed a leadoff single but retired the next three batters with a strikeout to end the frame.

After a scoreless Michigan top of the eighth, UCLA plated three runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Bruins opened with a single, and a one-out RBI triple to tie the game was followed by an RBI single to reclaim the lead. A sacrifice bunt two batters later pushed across another run to make the score 7-5.

The Wolverines went down in order in the ninth to end the game.

Michigan will await its NCAA Tournament fate during the NCAA Selection Show at noon on Monday (May 26) on ESPN2.