So much for a soft landing in Westwood. Saint Mary’s marched into Jackie Robinson Stadium and handed No. 1 overall seed UCLA a 3-2 gut punch, stealing the opening game of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional. Jacob Johnson supplied the dagger with a go-ahead solo home run in the top of the ninth, and the Gaels never gave the lead back, shoving the Bruins straight into the losers' bracket and into an elimination game on Saturday.
Johnson’s ninth-inning blast flips the script on UCLA
Johnson turned a tight, low-scoring grind into a full-on upset with his ninth-inning shot, a solo homer that broke a late tie and finally cracked UCLA closer Easton Hawk, who had not surrendered a run in 26 appearances. According to NCAA.com, UCLA could not scratch out a tying run in the bottom half, and the result goes into the books as the first opening-game loss by a No. 1 national seed under the current tournament format.
Pitching moves, momentum swings and one near-miss in left
Saint Mary’s rode a steady start from John Damozonio, then turned the ball over to Cam Staton, who worked the final two scoreless innings to lock down the win, per Saint Mary’s athletics. On the UCLA side, starter Wylan Moss gave the Bruins five innings, and Hawk was charged with the ninth-inning run after UCLA had briefly moved in front on a fifth-inning sacrifice fly, as reported by the Los Angeles Daily News. An attempted grab by UCLA outfielder Jarrod Hocking on Johnson’s ninth-inning drive came up just short, and the Gaels made that miss stand up the rest of the way.
Regional path tightens for UCLA
The Bruins now have zero wiggle room, heading into an elimination game Saturday against the loser of the Virginia Tech–Cal Poly matchup as they try to claw through the losers' bracket. The full regional schedule and bracket details are posted by UCLA Athletics, while Saint Mary’s gets to ride a road win and a signature swing into its next contest.
Gaels bring WCC swagger, shake up the bracket
Saint Mary’s arrived in Los Angeles as the West Coast Conference champion, built on timely hitting and extra-base power that carried the program all season, according to WCCSports. The upset gives the Gaels a dose of late-inning glory and turns the Los Angeles Regional into an early wildcard. For UCLA, it is a sharp reminder that in a postseason double-elimination setup, even the top national seed has almost no room for error.
