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UCLA Softball: Rachel Garcia is the Pac-12 POTY, seven others honored

By Mike Regalado

8 Apr 1998: General view of a bat and glove that belong to Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals during a game against the Colorado Rockies at the Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Cardinals defeated the Rockies 13-9. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport
8 Apr 1998: General view of a bat and glove that belong to Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals during a game against the Colorado Rockies at the Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Cardinals defeated the Rockies 13-9. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport /
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The UCLA softball team cleaned up in the Pac-12 All-Conference Awards as eight Bruins were honored including a rarity as Rachel Garcia was named the Pitcher and Player of the Year.

Do me a favor and open up a dictionary. Look up the word, “dominance.” I’m pretty sure you will see a picture of the 2019 UCLA softball team in there.

Currently, the Bruins are dominating as they are 45-3 and they could not have done it without the help of a fantastic roster of ballplayers. Today, eight of those players were honored as they made multiple All-Pac-12 teams.

The highlight of the Pac-12 awards was the one and only P/1B Rachel Garcia who was named not only the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year but also the Pac-12 Player of the Year. This is the first time a Bruin has accomplished that feat and only the second time it has happened in Pac-12 history.

This year, Garcia dominated on the mound with an astounding ERA of 0.71, which was the second best in the country and, so far, has a record of 20-0. She is also pretty good with the bat as she had a .348 batting average, eight home runs, 40 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .606.

But Garcia was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the awards as the Bruins had seven players make the All-Pac12 First Team. Along with Garcia, UTIL Kelli Godin, OF Aaliyah Jordan, INF Briana Perez, C/OF Taylor Pack, UTIL Bubba Nickles, and P Megan Faraimo are all taking home conference honors for the season. This was both Garcia’s and Nickles’ third time making the All-Pac-12 team and the second for Aaliyah Jordan, and Briana Perez.

As for the freshmen, no one did it better than Faraimo who is following in Garcia’s footsteps. Faraimo claimed the Freshman of the Year award after a record of 15-3 and an ERA of 1.31. The Bruins had two other first-year players step up as Godin, and C/1B Colleen Sullivan made it on the All-Freshman team. Godin was one of the Bruins’ heavy hitters this season as she sported a team-high batting average of .441.

Additionally, Godin and Perez made the All-Defensive team.

Here is the list of Bruin honorees:

UCLA Softball All-Pac-12 Honorees

  • Pitcher AND Player of the Year: Rachel Garcia
  • Freshman of the Year: Megan Faraimo
  • All-Pac-12 First Team: Rachel Garcia, Megan Faraimo, Kelli Godin, Aaliyah Jordan, Briana Perez, Taylor Pack, Bubba Nickles
  • All-Defensive Team: Kelli Godin, Briana Perez
  • All-Freshman Team: Megan Faraimo, Kelli Godin, Colleen Sullivan

Congratulations to all the Bruins honored!