Bruin All-Americans Kylee Perez, Rachel Garcia and Aaliyah Jordan.
Three Bruins Named NFCA All-American
May 30, 2018 | Softball
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OKLAHOMA CITY - Three Bruins were recognized on the NFCA All-American teams on Wednesday, as redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia and redshirt freshman Aaliyah Jordan each earned First Team honors, while senior Kylee Perez was named Second Team All-American.
Garcia picked up her second consecutive All-American nod, earning Second Team as a redshirt freshman a year ago. It marks the first All-American awards for Jordan and Perez.
Garcia, who was named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year on Tuesday, leads the Bruins' pitching staff with a 1.02 earned run average, a 27-3 record and 273 strikeouts in 185 innings, while adding a .356 batting average, 11 home runs and 53 runs batted in, the latter two categories ranking second on the team. Garcia has pitched 18 complete games and has been a part of 11 shutouts, including nine solo blankings, adding two saves and limiting opponents to a .129 batting average. At the plate, she is tied for third with 21 walks and first with six sacrifice flies.
This season, Garcia has earned a plethora of awards: ESPNW National Player of the Year, NFCA First Team All-Region, Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year, All-Pac-12 First Team, two-time NFCA National Pitcher of the Week (April 17 and 24), two-time USA Softball National Player of the Week (Feb. 27 and April 17), one-time NFCA National Player of the Week (Feb. 27), four-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week (April 16, April 23, May 7 and May 14) and one-time Pac-12 Player of the Week (April 16).
Garcia has pitched in all seven games of the NCAA Tournament, going 6-1 with a 0.83 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings. She has pitched all but six innings in the postseason, giving up 20 hits and five earned runs. At the plate, Garcia is 8-for-22 (.364) in the playoffs with two home runs and a team-best nine RBI.
Jordan is tops on the squad with a .434 average, 12 homers, 66 RBI, 15 doubles, 134 total bases, a .736 slugging, 27 walks and a .498 on base percentage. She is also second with five sacrifice flies and third with 55 runs scored. An NFCA First Team All-Region honoree and Top 10 finalist for both the USA Softball Player of the Year and the NFCA National Freshman of the Year awards, Jordan, the Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year, was a six-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (Feb. 20, Feb. 27, March 13, April 2, April 23 and April 30) to go with Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on April 23.
A member of the All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Pac-12 Freshman Team, Jordan is in the Top 20 nationally in six offensive categories, ranking tied for seventh in RBI, tied for 10th in hits (79), tied for 15th in sacrifice flies, 19th in average and tied for 20th in runs and total bases. Jordan is 7-for-20 (.350) in the postseason with a homer, three RBI and a team-high six walks.
Perez is first on the team with 61 runs scored, second with 10 stolen bases, tied for second with 77 hits, third with a .393 batting average and a .457 on base percentage and tied for third with 21 walks, adding six home runs, 34 runs batted in and 11 doubles. Nationally, she is tied for eighth in runs scored and tied for 13th in hits. Perez ranks in the Top 10 in seven offensive categories in UCLA history, including third in hits (297) and fourth in runs (189).
Perez, an NFCA All-Region and All-Pac-12 First Team selection, as well as a member of the All-Pac-12 Defensive Team and a Top 10 finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, is batting .423 (11-for-26) in the NCAA Tournament. She has a team-best six runs scored, as well as a homer and four RBI.
The third-seeded Bruins open up the Women's College World Series on Thursday against No. 6 Florida State at 8:30 p.m. CT/6:30 p.m. PT. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
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