UChicago Rides Pitching Gems to Sweep in 2026 Home Opener
The University of Chicago baseball team earned a doubleheader sweep of Brandeis on Friday afternoon to open their 2026 home slate.
John Butka toed the slab for the Maroons in the opening game of the day, and the senior tossed six shutout innings with five strikeouts and just four hits allowed. The UChicago offense also wasted not time giving their start run support as Braden Jirovec manufactured his own offense in the opening inning. The senior singled to center field, stole second base, advanced to third on a flyout, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Gladden to take a 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, UChicago doubled its lead. Following a walk by Harrison Belden, Ryan Bhojwani singled to right field, advancing Belden to third. Then, Jack Sharp scored him on an RBI groundout. The third inning was more of the same for the Maroons as they tacked on three more runs with a two-run double by Nathan Bae and a bases loaded walk for Sharp to stretch the lead to 5-0.
In the fifth inning, the Maroons tacked on two more runs on an RBI double by Bhojwani and a wild pitch that later scored Bhojwani. The Maroons then sealed the run-rule victory in the seventh inning with an error to allow Jonah Obitz to reach, a pair of singles by Luke Weston and Jirovec, a pair of wild pitches to bring home Obitz and Weston, and a game-winning single by Bae.
Braden Jirovec led the offense with four hits and a pair of runs scored, and Ryan Bhojwani added three hits in the win. Nathan Bae also tallied two hits and three RBIs.
On the mound, Butka earned his fourth win of the season, and Connor Dong earned the hold with one shutout inning of work.
In the second game of the day, Brandeis struck first with a two-run single in the third inning to take a quick 2-0 lead. However, UChicago answered with one run of their own in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead in half. Braden Jirovec singled and stole second base before eventually scoring on an RBI single from Max Weisner.
The Maroons took their first lead of the game in the fifth inning with a trio of two-out runs. Following a single by Jirovec and a two-out walk by Michael Gladden, Wiesner ripped a two-run double down the left field line, and Harrison Belden doubled down the right field line to score Wiesner to stretch the lead to 4-2.
From that point on, it was the UChicago pitching staff putting on a show. After a walk by Matthew Richert in the sixth inning, he exited the game with 5.1 innings and seven strikeouts. David Flanagan got off to a rocky start with a single and a hit by pitch to load the bases for the Judges. However, Flanagan got a strikeout and ground out to get out of the sixth-inning jam. Then, in the seventh inning, Brandeis once again put their first two runners on, but Flanagan recorded a double play and a ground out to third to end the inning.
Flanagan continued to roll with a three-up, three-down eighth inning, but he once again allowed the first two runners to reach in the ninth which forced the Maroons to turn the ball over to Grant Tenuta. After a sacrifice bunt to put the tying run in scoring position, Tenuta forced a pair of infield popups to earn his first save of the season, sealing the 4-2 win.
Max Weisner was the top offensive threat in the second game of the day with a pair of hits and three RBIs. Braden Jirovec and Nathan Bae also tallied a pair of hits, and Jirovec scored a team-high two runs.