Top-Ranked Bruins Host Round-Robin Tournament

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Friday, April 27
#25/#21 Oklahoma State (V) vs. South Dakota (H) - 2 p.m.
#25/#21 Oklahoma State (V) vs. #1/#1 UCLA (H) - 4:30 p.m.
South Dakota (V) vs. #1/#1 UCLA (H) - 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 28
South Dakota (V) vs. #25/#21 Oklahoma State (H) - 2 p.m.
South Dakota (V) vs. #1/#1 UCLA (H) - 4:30 p.m.
#25/#21 Oklahoma State (V) vs. #1/#1 UCLA (H) - 7 p.m.

All Games at Easton Stadium
Live Stats and Free Live Audio Links
Tickets

#1 BRUINS HOST #21 OKLAHOMA STATE, SOUTH DAKOTA
The top-ranked Bruins host a round-robin tournament with #21 Oklahoma State and South Dakota this weekend at Easton Stadium. UCLA will play twice on Friday against OSU (4:30 p.m.) and USD (7 p.m.) and twice on Saturday versus USD (4:30 p.m.) and OSU (7 p.m.). All four Bruin games will feature free live audio on UCLABruins.com.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Bruins play their final non-conference, regular-season game on Tuesday, May 1 at Cal State Fullerton at 6 p.m. before heading to Berkeley for their last Pac-12 road series. The UCLA-California series starts on Friday, May 4 (3 p.m.), continues on Saturday, May 5 (1:30 p.m.) and concludes on Sunday, May 6 (2 p.m.). All three games will air on Pac-12 Networks.

BRUINS IN THE POLLS
The Bruins are ranked #1 in both national polls following their three-game sweep of then-#1 Washington. UCLA had 29 of 32 first-place votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll and 17 of 20 first-place nods in the ESPN.com/USA Softball ranking. UCLA is one of five Pac-12 teams ranked in the Top 25 of either poll: Oregon (#2 NFCA/#2 USA Softball), Washington (#4 NFCA, #4 USA Softball), Arizona State (#9 NFCA, #9 USA Softball) and Arizona (#10 NFCA/#11 USA Softball), with California and Oregon State also receiving votes in both polls. In the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches poll, UCLA was second, earning 55 points and a pair of first-place votes.

GARCIA, JORDAN FINALISTS FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia and redshirt freshman Aaliyah Jordan are two of 25 finalists for the 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, as announced on Wednesday.

The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award enters its 17th season and recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country. Previous recipients of the award include the first honoree in 2002, UCLA's Stacey Nuveman. Four Bruins have been Top 3 finalists for the award (Nuveman, 2002; Natasha Watley, 2002-2003; Megan Langenfeld, 2010; Ally Carda, 2014).

The Top 25 list includes nine seniors, nine juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen, representing 17 universities and eight conferences. The Top 10 finalists will be named on May 9, with the Top 3 announced on May 23. The POY will be revealed on May 29.

GARCIA AGAIN NAMED NFCA PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia was named NFCA National Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row after tossing 13 shutout innings with 18 strikeouts in helping the top-ranked Bruins to a three-game sweep of then-#1 Washington last weekend.

Garcia, who on Monday was named Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week, recorded her second-straight NFCA National Pitcher of the Week award (April 17), third NFCA National nod of the season (Feb. 27 - National Player of the Week), and the 26th in UCLA history.

Garcia picked up two wins and a save, limiting the Huskies to four hits and two walks. In game one (April 20), she tossed a complete-game, three-hitter, striking out 10 in seven innings and giving up just three hits and a walk. Garcia came in relief in game two (April 21) and fanned six in 4 1/3 innings of one-hit, one-walk ball for another victory. She capped off the weekend by earning a save on Sunday (April 22), retiring all five batters she faced, including two by strikeout.

JORDAN, GARCIA SWEEP PAC-12 WEEKLY AWARDS
Redshirt freshman Aaliyah Jordan and redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia swept the Pac-12 Conference weekly awards on Monday, as Jordan was named Player and Freshman of the Week, while Garcia earned Pitcher of the Week accolades for the second week in a row.

It is just the second time in Pac-12 history, since the advent of the Freshman of the Week award in 2015, that one school has swept all three honors in the same week. Jordan's multiple honors mark only the fourth time in conference history since 2015 that someone has been named Player and Freshman of the Week in the same week.

Garcia picked up her fifth Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week award, and it is also the first time she has gone back-to-back, as she also won the plaudit three times in 2017 (Feb. 21, April 11 and April 25). Jordan's FOW is her fifth of the season (Feb. 20, Feb. 27, March 13 and April 2). The Bruins have earned 10 conference weekly honors this season, with Briana Perez also receiving Freshman of the Week on Feb. 13 and Garcia being named Player of the Week last Monday.

Jordan went 3-for-9 (.333) with two home runs and three runs batted in during the Bruins' three-game sweep of #1 Washington. In game one on Friday (April 20), Jordan singled in her first at-bat and then broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning on a solo homer. It proved to be the game-winning run in the 3-0 victory. On Saturday (April 21), the redshirt freshman took over the team lead for home runs with a two-run blast off the top of a tree in right field, her ninth of the season, to tie the game at two, a contest the Bruins eventually won on a walk-off homer in the seventh.

Garcia was flawless in the circle, throwing 13 shutout innings and recording 18 strikeouts, picking up two wins and a save. She limited the Huskies to four hits and two walks. In game one, she tossed a complete-game, three-hitter, striking out 10 in seven innings and giving up just three hits and a walk. Garcia came in relief in game two and fanned six in 4 1/3 innings of one-hit, one-walk ball for another victory. She capped off the weekend by earning a save on Sunday (April 22), retiring all five batters she faced, including two by strikeout.

JORDAN, PEREZ FINALISTS FOR NFCA FOY AWARD
Aaliyah Jordan and Briana Perez were named finalists for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on April 19.

On May 10, the current Top 25 list will be trimmed down to 10, with the Top 3 finalists announced on May 23. The Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year trophy will be presented on May 29 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

In the fourth year of the award in 2017, current redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia was named the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year.

BRUINS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS (THROUGH 4/25)
TEAM
Slugging Percentage   1st (.548)
Batting Average   2nd (.351)
On Base Percentage   3rd (.426)
Runs Per Game   4th (6.86)
Doubles   T-15th (70)
Earned Run Average   16th (1.82)
Triples   T-22nd (13)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio   31st (2.81)
Home Runs   T-38th (43)

INDIVIDUAL
AALIYAH JORDAN
Batting Average   6th (.473)
Runs Batted In   6th (56)
Slugging Percentage   18th (.822)
Sacrifice Flies   T-20th (4)
On Base Percentage   22nd (.523)
Runs Scored   T-25th (44)
Hits   T-27th (61)
Total Bases   T-30th (106)
Doubles   T-36th (14)

RACHEL GARCIA
Strikeouts Per Seven Innings   5th (10.5)
Hits Allowed Per Seven Innings   5th (3.15)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio   11th (7.48)
Earned Run Average   20th (1.21)
Shutouts   T-29th (6)

KYLEE PEREZ
Runs Scored   T-11th (46)
Batting Average   T-37th (.422)

BRIANA PEREZ
Runs Scored   T-47th (41)

NEWS AND NOTES
The Bruins, who had 13 comeback victories last season, posted their 10th of the year last Saturday against Washington ... UCLA has won 87 in a row when ahead after five innings (25 times this season) ... the Bruins have not allowed more than 20 runs in any one inning this season and have given up less than 10 runs in the sixth (9) ... UCLA has lost just once (39-1) when scoring at least three runs and is 25-0 when giving up two runs or less ... all three of the Bruins' losses this year have come when the opponent scores first (8-3 record, 32-0 when scoring first) ... of the 268 runs batted in for Bruin hitters, 104 have come with two outs for a 38.8 percentage. Freshman Briana Perez leads the team with 19 two-out RBI, followed by redshirt freshman Aaliyah Jordan (18), sophomore Bubba Nickles (13) and redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia (10) ... the Bruins were the final remaining undefeated team in college softball this season, entering their March 17 game with a 25-0 record. UCLA's start was tied for the fifth best in program history. In three of the other five seasons where the Bruins started a year with at least 25 consecutive wins, they won the NCAA Championship (1992, 1999, 2004) ... with the Feb. 25 win against Missouri, head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez earned the 500th victory of her career.

SCOUTING THE OKLAHOMA STATE COWGIRLS
Oklahoma State (34-14, 12-3 Big 12) enters the weekend with wins in six of its last eight games, including a three-game sweep against #19 Baylor. The Cowgirls are hitting .324 as a team with 54 home runs and 24 stolen bases, averaging 6.27 runs per game. Six players are hitting over .300, led by senior Vanessa Shippy's .474 average. Senior Maddi Holcomb is second with a .390 average and first with eight steals, while junior Madi Sue Montgomery is hitting .364 with 12 homers and 53 runs batted in. In the circle, senior Emmie Robertson is 11-4 with a 1.93 earned run average and 77 strikeouts in 105 innings, junior Samantha Clakley is 14-6 with a 2.30 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 137 innings and sophomore Logan Simunek is 8-4 with a 2.34 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings.

SERIES HISTORY: BRUINS VS. COWGIRLS
The Bruins lead the all-time series with Oklahoma State 10-5, winning the last meeting in Cathedral City on Feb. 23, 2013 (5-1). The two teams have never played at Easton Stadium, with every meeting being at a neutral site, including five times at the Women's College World Series (UCLA 4-1).

SCOUTING THE SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES
South Dakota (15-32, 5-9 Summit League) is hitting .282 as a team with 47 home runs and 25 stolen bases, averaging 4.55 runs per game. The Coyotes have six players hitting .300 or better, led by junior Jessica Rogers, who is first with a .347 average, 11 homers and 35 runs batted in. Sophomore Camille Fowler is third with a .322 average and first with 12 stolen bases, while senior Taylor Steinfeldt (.304) is second with nine homers. In the circle, junior Dustie Durham is 10-11 with a 4.41 earned run average and 73 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings, freshman Sarah Lisko is 5-10 with a 5.54 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 91 innings and redshirt freshman Alexis Devers is 0-8 with a 6.71 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 49 innings.

SERIES HISTORY: BRUINS VS. COYOTES
The Bruins opened the 2017 season against South Dakota in San Diego, winning 6-0 (Feb. 10) in the only meeting between the two teams.

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