University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Garcia, Ralston, Powell Named All-Americans
May 30, 2019 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ UCLA junior right-hander Ryan Garcia was named a First Team All-American while redshirt junior righty Jack Ralston and sophomore closer Holden Powell both earned Second Team status as Collegiate Baseball released its 2019 Division I All-America Teams on Thursday morning.
This is the fourth time in the last five seasons that UCLA has landed an All-American. The three All-America picks are the Bruins' most since 2015 when David Berg, James Kaprielian, and Kevin Kramer earned the distinction. Under head coach John Savage, UCLA has had 15 All-America selections.
Garcia added to his quickly-growing awards case with the honor from Collegiate Baseball, becoming the first UCLA pitcher to earn First Team All-America status since Berg in 2015. Garcia was also named the 2019 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist, Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist, and earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors three times this season.
The Sierra Madre, Calif. native is 9-0 on the year with a 1.42 ERA and a team-best 101 strikeouts in 76 innings. He ranks top-10 nationally in ERA (sixth), WHIP (0.86, seventh), and hits allowed per nine innings (4.86, fourth). In league play, he ranked first in wins (eight), strikeouts (85), and batting average against (.159). He had several standout performances once re-joining the rotation in late March, including seven innings of one-hit ball against Arizona on Mar. 24, a complete game two-hit shutout against Utah on Apr. 26, and seven scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts against East Carolina on Apr. 13. His 14 punchouts against the Utes are the most by a Pac-12 pitcher this year and the most by a Bruin since Trevor Bauer on Jun. 4, 2011.
He is tabbed to make the start in UCLA's postseason opener against Omaha on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
Ralston was one of the great breakout stories of college baseball in 2019, improving from a 1-4 record a 6.44 ERA in 2018 to an 11-0 record and 2.43 ERA as a weekend starter this year. His record is tied for the best in the country, and he's UCLA's first 10-game winner since James Kaprielian in 2015. The Newhall, Calif. native was especially hot down the stretch, putting together a 27-inning scoreless streak from Apr. 27 to May 23. He is one of eight starting pitchers vying for the Dick Howser Trophy, and has been named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on two occasions this year.
Powell is having a historic season for the Bruins, as he's locked down 16 saves this year to place second on UCLA's single-season and career (22) saves lists. He ranks third in the nation in saves, and was ranked No. 4 in D1Baseball's power rankings of NCAA relief pitchers. The Visalia, Calif. native had a 20-inning streak without allowing an earned run from Mar. 22 to May 5 and has been scored upon just twice in his last 22 outings dating back to Mar. 18. He's lowered his ERA from 4.76 to 2.03 in that span, and has 55 strikeouts in just 40 innings for a team-high 12.38 strikeouts per nine innings ratio.
UCLA, the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, begins postseason play this weekend by hosting the Los Angeles Regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium from May 31 to Jun. 3. The field includes (2) Baylor, (3) Loyola Marymount, and (4) Omaha. The Bruins face the Mavericks on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
