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Redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia picked up a pair of national awards on Tuesday, as she was named NFCA Player of the Week and USA Softball Co-Player of the Week, while redshirt freshman Aaliyah Jordan for the second week in a row picked up Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week accolades.
In the circle, Garcia went 3-0 with a save in four appearances, striking out 30 in 17 2/3 innings and posting a 0.40 earned run average. She tossed a pair of complete games, limiting opponents to an .085 batting average, five hits, one run and three walks. At the plate, Garcia was 9-for-17 (.529 batting average) with four runs batted in, three walks and two runs scored in six contests.
After closing out the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic I on Monday, Feb. 19 with a six-up, six-down performance in relief against Grand Canyon with four strikeouts to pick up a save, Garcia racked up a pair of victories against ranked teams on back-to-back days. On Friday, Feb. 23 against #23 Nebraska, she struck out 11 in a two-hit, complete-game shutout, allowing just four baserunners (two walks). Garcia also added a pair of hits and an RBI against the Huskers.
The next day versus #7 LSU, Garcia again went the distance in a mercy-rule victory, fanning 12 in five innings and limiting the Tigers to two hits, a walk and a run. The only run she would allow for the week would score on a questionable obstruction call at the plate. Pitchingwise, Garcia finished the week with a win in relief against Missouri on Sunday, Feb. 25, striking out three in 3 2/3 innings and giving up just one baserunner on a hit. At the plate, Garcia had hits in all five games at the MNCCII, producing a two-run single versus LSU. In Sunday's doubleheader, she went 5-for-6, going 3-for-3 with an RBI single against Missouri and 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored versus Fresno State.
In six games last week, Jordan hit .412 with seven hits in 17 at-bats. She drove in nine, hit three home runs and scored seven times. She registered multiple hits and RBI in each of her first three games of the week, crossing home plate twice in three contests as well.
Jordan opened the week with a two-run double and a two-run homer against Grand Canyon. Versus #23 Nebraska, the redshirt freshman added two more hits, including another two-run homer, while in last Friday's nightcap against Liberty, Jordan recorded two more hits and yet another two-run homer. That bomb turned out to be a go-ahead shot in the fifth to help the Bruins come back from a 3-2 deficit.
Jordan followed that up with an RBI single and a pair of runs scored against LSU, while adding two walks to end the weekend versus Fresno State. Her Freshman of the Week award is the ninth in UCLA history in just the fourth year of the award's existence and third in a row to start the season, as Briana Perez earned the honor on Feb. 13.
Garcia recorded her first NFCA National Player of the Week accolade, the 24th in UCLA history and the first for the Bruins since 2014. Her USA Softball National POW award is the 17th in program history and her second after she earned the honor last April 11.
The Bruins, who are ranked third in both national polls this week, head to the San Diego Classic I this weekend on the campuses of the University of San Diego and San Diego State. UCLA's first contest will be at USD on Friday at 7 p.m. against UCF.