University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Redshirt freshman Rachel Garcia has allowed zero or one earned run in 27 of her 40 games.
Garcia Named Top Three Finalist for NFCA FOY
May 24, 2017 | Softball
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LOUISVILLE, Ky.ย -ย Rachel Garcia was named a Top Three finalist for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Wednesday.
The Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year trophy will be presented during a live ceremony on May 31 at the Women's College World Series. Garcia's fellow finalists are Minnesota's Kendyl Lindaman and Oregon's Maggie Balint.
Garcia earned Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year honors, and was also named NFCA All-West Region Second Team, All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Pac-12 Freshman Team. She enters the Super Regional round with a 20-7 record in the circle, three saves, a 1.84 earned run average and a team-best 179 strikeouts in 167 2/3 innings. At the plate, Garcia is third on the team with 18 walks, adding a .331 batting average, six home runs, 26 runs batted in and 11 doubles.
Garcia tossed the first no-hitter of her career in the NCAA Regional opener against Lehigh last Friday, striking out eight. She added nine strikeouts in her 11th complete game of the season in Sunday's Regional Championship victory over Cal State Fullerton. In her 40 appearances, the three-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week has given up zero or one earned run in 27 of them, including all three outings last weekend. Garcia also has at least eight strikeouts in three of her last five games. With her bat, the four-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week has hits in five of her last six, batting .421 (8-for-19) over her last two weekends with two homers and four RBI.
UCLA opens up the Los Angeles Super Regional on Thursday against Ole Miss at 6 p.m. at Easton Stadium. Tickets are available here, as well as at Easton starting 90 minutes prior to first pitch each day. The game will also air on ESPN and have free live audio and live stats on UCLABruins.com.
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