Designated hitter Jacob Johnson hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning off Easton Hawk to lift Saint Mary’s to a stunning 3-2 win over top-seeded UCLA in the Los Angeles Regional opener Friday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
It marked the first loss by a national No. 1 seed in an NCAA regional opener since the current format was established in 1999.
“I think that we play good baseball,” Saint Mary’s starting pitcher John Damozonio said when asked about the Gaels being fueled by low external expectations. “I know that nobody picked us, but kind of our big thing is that we throw all these strikes, we take quality at bats, we play quality defense. … Even if you want to say that a team is objectively better, the team that plays the best baseball that day is going to win. And I think that we play a lot of really good baseball.”
Saint Mary’s Jacob Johnson (46) celebrates with teammates after hitting a go-ahead solo home run in the ninth inning Friday against UCLA.
(Scott Strazzante / For The Times)
UCLA coach John Savage gave credit to Saint Mary’s for pulling off the win.
“I thought it was a good game,” Savage said. “I thought both teams played really good defense. I thought both pitching staffs threw strikes for the most part.”
Johnson’s second solo home run of the game initially only appeared to be a pop-up near the warning track. But as the stadium fell silent, the ball kept sailing — and it eventually cleared the wall over leaping Bruins right fielder Jarrod Hocking.
“It was a routine fly ball,” Savage said. “But it was a late-May, [Jackie Robinson Stadium] fly ball that leaves the ballpark. [Johnson is] a big, strong guy, and you got to give him credit for getting the ball up in the air; we didn’t get the ball up in the air enough.”
Saint Mary’s reliever Cam Staton earned the win after getting UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the expected No. 1 pick in the 2026 MLB draft, to pop out with a runner on first. The right-handed Hawk took the loss.
Hawk previously had given up just three homers on the season and hadn’t surrendered one since March 1 against Mississippi State. Johnson, who went deep to start the day’s scoring in the fourth, recorded his second two-homer game of the season.
“A couple big swings by Johnson … really was the difference in the game,” Savage said.
UCLA starting pitcher Wylan Moss surrendered three hits and one run through five innings, and Damozonio gave up five hits and two runs through seven, throwing 105 pitches.
“We just didn’t do enough offensively to put ourselves in position to create runs,” Savage said. “At the end of the day, 12 o’clock at Jackie, late May … it’s usually pretty offensive. Today was not, for whatever reason, a very offensive day. Got to [give] St. Mary’s credit. I thought the senior right-hander [Damozonio] threw outstanding … and the left-hander [Staton] came in and did his job.”
UCLA’s Jarrod Hocking strikes out to end eighth inning during a 3-2 loss to Saint Mary’s in the NCAA regionals on Friday.
(Scott Strazzante / For The Times)
Third baseman Roman Martin hit a solo shot in the fourth, and Cholowsky hit a temporary go-ahead sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Gaels third baseman Makoa Sniffen hit an RBI double to tie the game 2-2 in the sixth.
But the Bruins were unable to rally after posting 28 comeback wins during the regular season.
Saint Mary’s (35-25) will face the winner of Virginia Tech (2) vs. Cal Poly (3) — who play Friday night — in the winner’s bracket on Saturday at 6 p.m. PDT; UCLA (51-7) will face the loser in the elimination bracket Saturday at 1 p.m. The Bruins must win to keep their season alive.
“We know how to lose, and we know what it takes to respond,” Martin said, referencing UCLA’s seasoned junior class.
