Garcia, Powell Become Consensus All-Americans
June 13, 2019 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ Junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Garcia and sophomore right-handed pitcher Holden Powell became unanimous 2019 All-America selections on Thursday morning as D1Baseball unveiled its postseason honors. Garcia was tabbed to the First Team by D1 while Powell was named to the Second Team.
UCLA's Friday night starter, Garcia has now been named First Team All-America by all five major outlets that produce postseason awards: D1Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game, and the NCBWA. He joins a select list of Bruins to gain consensus First Team All-America status, joining UCLA pitching legends Trevor Bauer (2011) and David Berg (2013). ย
Powell meanwhile also gained consensus All-American status, as he was named to one of the top three teams by all five outlets. UCLA's standout closer received his highest honor from the NCBWA, which selected him First Team All-America. He is also a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, handed out annually to college baseball's top reliever.
Garcia had one of the best seasons of any collegiate pitcher in 2019, posting a 10-1 record with a 1.44 ERA and 117 strikeouts in just 94 innings. A second round selection by Texas (No. 50 overall) in the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Garcia allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of 16 appearances for the Bruins this season.
As of Jun. 13, Garcia ranks top-five in the NCAA in ERA (fourth), hits allowed per nine innings (4.98, second), and WHIP (0.83, second).
Powell, a sophomore, had one of the best campaigns by a reliever in Bruin history, recording a 1.84 ERA and 17 saves. His save total was second, both in the country this year and in the all-time UCLA single-season record book, trailing only the NCAA-record 24 recorded by David Berg in 2013. Powell made 40 appearances during the season, third-most of any pitcher nationwide (trailing only teammates Kyle Mora and Nate Hadley).
The flame-throwing righty became more unhittable as the year progressed, lowering his ERA nearly three runs between Mar. 17 (4.76) and the end of the season (1.84). From Mar. 22 on, he allowed an earned run in just three of his 29 appearances. In that span, he recorded an ERA of just 1.16 and struck out 53 batters in 38 2/3 innings compared to just 11 hits against.
He saved arguably his most impressive outing of the year for last, tossing a career-high five innings and 77 pitches in UCLA's 5-4 Super Regional win over Michigan on Jun. 8. The entire outing was a high pressure situation, as it was either tied or a one-run game for the entirety of his appearance. Despite the Wolverines needing just one swing of the bat to win the game in the bottom of the ninth through 11th innings, Powell held strong before the Bruins went ahead for good in the 12th.
