UCLA Softball’s Rachel Garcia Fans 10 and Shuts Out Huskies, 3-0

While both the Bruins and the Huskies have been tearing the cover off the ball all season long, good pitching still tops good hitting and, last night, UCLA’s pitching was better than the Washington hitters and the Bruins’ hitting got the best of the Huskies’ pitchers or, at least enough from them to win the game.

Rachel Garcia shut the Huskies’ offense down. She pitched a three-hit shutout in which she struck out 10 while and only walked one. She also snuffed out Washington’s best chance to score. It came in the fourth inning when the Huskies managed to load the bases with only one out.

That’s when Garcia struck out consecutive batters looking to end the threat. The Huskies stranded all three runners and they got nothing.

In the bottom half of the fourth, Aaliyah Jordan came through with the big hit just as she has down so often this season when she homered to right to give UCLA a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins got some insurance in the bottom half of the sixth. Briana Perez led off and dropped a bunt down for a base hit. She would score when her sister Kylee doubled to left. Meanwhile, Kylee scored when Bubba Nickles hit a two-out bloop single to right that dropped in and gave UCLA a 3-0 lead heading into the seventh.

In the top of the seventh, just as she had done in four of the previous six innings, Garcia sent the Huskies down in order to earn her 14th win of the season and she sent the Bruin fans home happy.

The teams meet again this afternoon at 1 pm and UCLA will have the opportunity to grab the series win from the Huskies. If the Bruins can get another pitching gem like last night’s game out of either Garcia or whomever UCLA’s starter is, the result will likely be the same.

This is your UCLA Bruins vs Washington Huskies softball game two open thread.


Go Bruins!!!