The No. 2 UCLA softball team used excellent pitching and great hitting to win their first national championship in nine years when they defeated No. 1 Oklahoma last Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. The final score was 5-4 in a game that featured a battle between the two best teams in college softball this year. Kinsley Washington singled in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Bruins finished the season with a record of 56-6 and they were led by two-time College Player of the Year, Rachel Garcia. Garcia pitched and won all five games the Bruins played in the College World Series. She finished the season with a record of 29-1 and she also hit over .300 all season.
Garcia’s game-winning home run against Washington in game three was one of her brightest moments in a career filled with great moments. She is truly the best college softball player in the nation, but she had plenty of help this year.
The Bruins put it all together this season. With a line of former high school greats, they learned how to play together like the old John Wooden basketball teams that had great talent but everyone learned how to work towards a common goal, winning. Today, the example is the Golden State Warriors.
Pitching, hitting and fielding the Bruins were loaded from top to bottom. The game-winning hit by Washington came from the number eight hitter in the lineup. Every player in the lineup is capable of winning a game with their hitting, fielding or base running.
The Bruins will graduate two seniors from the starting lineup and with all their great hitters, two other really good pitchers and Garcia returning, look for the Bruins to be on top of the college softball world once again.