Designated hitter Jacob Johnson hit a go-ahead homer to 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 on Friday afternoon.
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 Bruins right fielder Jarrod Hocking leaped in an unsuccessful attempt to catch it as it cleared the wall.
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.
It marked the first loss by a national No. 1 seed in an NCAA regional opener since the current format was established in 1999.
Hawk previously had allowed 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.
Saint Mary’s 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 will face the loser in the elimination bracket Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT.
Friday’s starters, UCLA’s Wylan Moss and Saint Mary’s John Damozonio, dueled. Moss surrendered three hits and one run through five innings, and Damozonio gave up five hits and two runs through seven.
But it was Johnson and the Gaels that survived in the end.
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