No. 1 UCLA baseball stunned by Saint Mary’s to open NCAA Los Angeles Regional

LOS ANGELES — Payton Brennan predicted this challenge. The senior outfielder theorized that the UCLA baseball team might struggle as it entered the NCAA Los Angeles Regional with a contrasting status to last season.

As the hunted, not the hunter.

“It’s a different spot,” Brennan said at Thursday’s press conference. “Based on how we’re looked at, [the regional] could be harder this year.”

Rather than sneaking up on opponents, UCLA, as the wire-to-wire top-ranked team and No. 1 overall seed team in the NCAA Tournament, carries a target on its back. The Bruins have faced foes’ best efforts all season.

That was no different Friday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium, as Saint Mary’s took it to UCLA, handing the Bruins a 3-2 defeat for their first loss since April 14.

While catcher Cashel Dugger, speaking after Friday’s game, said that the Bruins didn’t approach the proverbial target on their back, “any different than we did all season,” they fell flat. UCLA became the first No. 1 overall seed to lose its first game in the NCAA Tournament.

The result means UCLA (51-7), which produced three walk-off wins in three games to win last week’s Big Ten Tournament, will play an elimination game against Virginia Tech on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Bruins now need to win four games over the next three days to win the regional and advance to a best-of-three super regional series.

Saint Mary’s designated hitter Jacob Johnson sealed that fate for UCLA. He hit two opposite-field solo home runs. The second put the Gaels (35-25) ahead for good in the top of the ninth inning.

UCLA closer Easton Hawk earned the loss after conceding Johnson’s second home run. Gaels relief pitcher Cam Staton earned the win after two scoreless innings, but starter John Damozonio put them in position to earn the victory.

“I thought he did a good job,” UCLA head coach John Savage said of Damozonio, who struck out six batters and allowed two earned runs over seven innings. “We just didn’t do enough offensively to put ourselves in position to create runs.”

Staton and Damozonio each forced UCLA star shortstop Roch Cholowsky into inning-ending flyouts when he represented the go-ahead run at the plate.

Damozonio kept UCLA scoreless for three innings, as did UCLA starter Wylan Moss with the Gaels. But in the fourth inning, Saint Mary’s and UCLA traded solo home runs to start the scoring. Roman Martin answered Johnson with a deep shot to straightaway center field, tying the score at 1-1.

The Bruins took their first lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Cholowsky’s sacrifice fly scored Trey Gudoy.

Moss pitched five strong innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs, but the final batter he faced came around to score and tie the game at two.

In the top of the sixth inning, Moss issued a walk to leadoff hitter Tanner Griffith. Savage turned to Landon Stump out of the bullpen, who conceded an RBI double to Makoa Sniffen.

After allowing a run in the fourth and fifth innings, Damozonio closed his outing on a strong note. He swiftly worked through the bottom of the Bruins’ order in the sixth inning, and Gaels head coach Eric Valenzuela kept him in the game.

Damozonio hit Gudoy to start the seventh, but as his pitch count exceeded 100, he remained composed. Dean West replaced Gudoy on second after a fielder’s choice, leading to a showdown between Damozonio and Cholowsky.

After a long at-bat, Cholowsky weakly popped out to first base.

“I actually felt better in the last couple innings than I did in the middle innings,” Damonzonio said, explaining that a mid-outing snack increased his energy after forgetting to eat lunch before the game. “I had a lot of things working today.”

UCLA’s bullpen pitched cleanly across the middle innings. Stump, Cal Randall and Zach Strickland combined to toss three scoreless frames. Hawk took the ninth with the score tied. Johnson, the second batter of the frame, hit a long fly ball to right field that kept carrying and scratched the wall as Jarrod Hocking attempted to rob it.

“It was a routine fly ball,” Savage said. “It was a late May, Jackie fly ball that leaves the ballpark.”

Staton relieved Damozonio in the bottom of the eighth inning, finding himself in a similar situation in both frames he tossed: two outs and the go-ahead run on base.

In the eighth, Hocking struck out on a pitch below the belt to end the inning. In the ninth inning, Cholowsky stared down Staton in a moment worth the price of admission. He got hold of one, but flied out to center field, concluding an 0-for-4 afternoon and ending the game.

With the game on the line, and Cholowsky at the plate, there was reason to believe the Bruins would earn their fourth straight walk-off win. But with starter Logan Reddeman still out, outfielder Will Gasparino suspended, infielder Aiden Aguayo rolling his ankle during pregame warmups and Brennan injuring his oblique in the fourth inning, it was one obstacle too many for UCLA to overcome Friday.

“We have kind of been playing on a little bit of a tightrope,” Savage said. “The same thing that makes you laugh, makes you cry. … Right now we’re a little uncomfortable, and that’s OK. You know, that’s a good test for our guys.”