How did Saint Mary’s beat UCLA?
The upset and the walk-off
Saint Mary’s eliminated No. 1 seed UCLA with a 6-5 walk-off win, scoring the deciding run in the 10th inning on Sunday in Los Angeles.
UCLA, despite being the top overall seed, couldn’t hold a narrow lead late and eventually fell in extra innings—turning what looked like a controllable endgame into an improbable finish for the Gaels.
Why it mattered
The result knocked the Bruins out of the NCAA Tournament and ended UCLA’s run as the tournament’s most highly regarded team. As a top seed, UCLA entered with expectations tied to both roster talent and postseason momentum; losing in a one-run walk-off in the final inning of the game underscored how quickly the balance can shift in college baseball.
What fans will remember
The defining feature was the late, game-ending swing—UCLA’s season ended not with a blowout, but with a dramatic extra-inning mistake or defensive breakdown that the opponent capitalized on immediately.
- Final: Saint Mary’s 6, UCLA 5
- Winning run: 10th inning walk-off
- Tournament impact: No. 1 seed UCLA eliminated
For a program like Saint Mary’s, the win also functions as a statement game—proof it could survive the pressure moments and keep swinging until the final out. For UCLA, it becomes a season-ending question: how the late innings collapsed, despite the preseason and seeding advantages.