Thirty-six games and counting: Diego Castellanos at bat—extending his game hit streak with a single in the first inning. The Gaels bested UCLA in an upset that has made national headlines. / Photo by Eric Brown Jr. for SMC Athletics
Down Goes No. 1: Gaels Shock the Bruins with 3–2 Victory in NCAA Baseball Regional Opener
Saint Mary’s makes history, knocking off the top overall seed in the NCAA for the first time in an opener. The Gaels play Cal Poly in the winner’s bracket on Saturday.
Saint Mary’s Baseball made history Friday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles, knocking off No. 1 overall seed and regional host UCLA 3–2, for the Gaels’ first win over a top-ranked team in program history. The victory also drew headlines across the country with words like shocked and stunned. Indeed, national history was made today: This marks the first time a No. 1 national seed has lost its opener in an NCAA Regional since the tournament’s expansion in 1999.
For the Gaels, senior ace John Damozonio has been sensational all season long, and he was great again on Friday, completing seven innings and allowing just two runs off five hits before departing with the game tied at two. The Gaels got on the board first with a solo home run from Jacob Johnson in the fourth, only to see UCLA (51–7) score two over the next two innings to take a 2–1 lead. Makoa Sniffen rifled a one-out double in the sixth to score Tanner Griffith from first to tie the game again.
After two more clean frames, Johnson came to the rescue with a moonshot homer in the top of the ninth to stun the Bruin crowd and put Saint Mary’s (35–25) in front 3–2. Cam Staton pitched the final two innings in relief and stayed on for the ninth, allowing just one hit and getting college baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect, UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky, to fly out to center to seal the win for the Gaels.
Saint Mary’s becomes just the second school to win back-to-back NCAA Regional openers over top-16 teams; last year, the Gaels defeated eighth-ranked Oregon State in Corvallis. The first team to pull off a back-to-back upset like that were the Fresno State Bulldogs, who did it in seasons that included their College World Series championship run in 2008. In last season’s win over Oregon State, the Gaels got herculean pitching performances from Dylan Delvecchio and Daniel Guevara Castro, who was in attendance at the game in LA. They got more of the same on Friday with John Damozonio and Cam Staton combining for nine innings, two runs off six hits, and nine total strikeouts.
These Gaels Came to Play
Friday's regional opener started off as a pitchers duel, with both starters completing three scoreless frames. Senior ace John Damozonio made his 14th start of the season for Saint Mary’s and looked sharp early, allowing just one hit and two baserunners over his first three innings. From the word go, on offense and defense alike, the Gaels looked like they belonged at Jackie Robinson Stadium taking on the No. 1 overall seed. They showed it with the game’s first run, taking a 1–0 lead with a solo home run from designated hitter Jacob Johnson—his 14th of the season—in the top of the fourth. Johnson started the game 2-for-2, including a double in the second inning. But Johnson was far from finished.
UCLA’s Roman Martin answered with a solo homer of his own in the bottom half of the frame to tie the game. Gaels pitcher Damozonio accepted his medicine and continued to deal. The Bruins took a 2–1 lead in the fifth off a sacrifice fly, but Saint Mary’s followed with an RBI double from Makoa Sniffen in the top half of the sixth, scoring the speedy Tanner Griffith from first base to tie the game at two.
After a clean sixth inning and the game still tied at two, head coach Eric Valenzuela ran Damozonio back out for a seventh frame. That was notable, as UCLA’s John Fisher had moved onto his third pitcher for the top of the seventh. Damozonio hit the leadoff batter but retired the next three, including shortstop Roch Cholowsky for the third time in the game, getting the leading MLB prospect to pop up to first to end the threat—and complete seven fantastic innings for the Gaels.
As a reliever, junior transfer Cam Staton has been a popular combination following Damozonio over the last month and a half of the season. Staton had his name called again for the final two innings against the Bruins. Staton put two runners on in the bottom of the eighth with two outs, but he was able to strike out right fielder Jarrod Hocking on a 3–2 breaker in the dirt to strand the runners and send the game into the ninth tied at two.
The Moonshot that Won the Game
UCLA’s bullpen faced the middle of the Gaels’ order in the ninth. After Ian Armstrong popped up to the infield for the first out, Jacob Johnson came to the plate and skyed a 3–1 pitch over the right field fence for his second homer of the game, putting Saint Mary’s in front 3–2. Johnson got a good barrel on the swing and sent it high into the sky; a favorable breeze pushed it over the right field fence by just a few feet.
Staton remained in the game for the bottom of the ninth and, after a one-out single, he struck out Dean West and then got Cholowsky to fly out to center to end the game—and make history for the Saint Mary’s Baseball program.
Johnson was the hero at the plate with those two home runs—his second multi-homer game of the season.
But it was truly a team effort, including seven innings from pitcher John Damozonio; quality defense, including a couple brilliant stops by third baseman Ian Josephson; and a two-inning win from Cam Staton for his fourth victory of the season.
Making History, Setting Records
It bears repeating that today Saint Mary’s recorded its first win over a top-ranked team in program history. And that the Gaels became the first team in NCAA Regional history to defeat the No. 1 overall seed in the opening game of a regional since the tournament expansion in 1999. And that Saint Mary’s has now recorded its second NCAA Tournament win in program history—and in so doing has knocked off the top regional seed in the opening game in back-to-back seasons, defeating regional host and eighth-ranked Oregon State in 2025.
It also bears noting that Diego Castellanos singled in the opening inning to extend his hit streak to 36 consecutive games—tying the SMC program and WCC records. That RBI double Makoa Sniffen hit in the sixth to tie the game at two also pushed his single-season hit total to 93—another program record. Jacob Johnson’s multi-homer game brings his season total to 14—second most on the team.
SMC pitching combined for nine strikeouts and to hem in the Bruins to two runs off six hits—the second lowest run total of the season for UCLA. And in completing seven innings, throwing more than 100 pitches, John Damozonio also brought his ERA down to 2.70. Cam Staton earned his fourth win as a Gael with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts.
Next Up: Gaels Play Cal Poly in the Winner’s Bracket on Saturday
Saint Mary’s plays in the winners bracket on Saturday and will take on Cal Poly, who defeated Virginia Tech 6–2 at Jackie Robinson Stadium Friday evening. First pitch for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game is being broadcast on ESPN+.
This story will be updated with additional broadcast and game information, or find it at smcgaels.com.
Story updated May 30, 2026 at 7:30 a.m.
History Made: Scenes from Jackie Robinson Stadium
Photos by Eric Brown Jr.
