The Top 15 Softball Stories of 2019: #4… UCLA Back on Top with WCWS Title, Rachel Garcia Repeats as National Player of the Year

We continue our list of the Top 15 Softball Stories of 2019, which will run through December 31^st when we’ll present our No. 1 story of the year.

Here are the previous stories (clink on link to read):

• #15… Team USA Dominates Summer Competition… with One Exception
• #14… USA Softball’s 2020 Stand Beside Her Tour… Taking the Brand Nationwide
• #13… Sam Show’s Bat Flips – & Clutch Performances – Light Up the 2019 Season
• #12… National High School Player of the Year Sydney Supple Spearheads Hometown Field of Dreams
• #11… Busy Year for the NPF Including USSSA Pride Out & CA Commotion In
• #10… PGF Nationals Celebrates 10 Years with Barnburner Finishes
• #9… Coaches Accused of Abuse by Players at Power 5 Colleges
• #8… Mark Campbell’s Death Stuns Club & High School Softball World
• #7… September 1 Becomes a Special Day in Recruiting (Again)
• #6… 2020 Tokyo Olympic Field of Six Finalized
• #5… Geri Ann Glasco Dies in Car Accident… Softball Community Mourns, Rallies Behind Glasco Family

We’ve surveyed the softball community and talked internally as well to come up with what were the most impactful and relevant stories of the year pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball.

Where applicable, we are providing links to the original articles and/or references when the story first happened.

Today’s story… #4… UCLA Back on Top. UCLA won its 12^th softball championship this summer—no one has more in the 38 years that the DI national title has been played (second best is Arizona with eight). Other stats that make the Bruins’ dominance even more impressive: three UCLA head coaches have won at least two championships—Sharron Backus, Sue Enquist and Kelly Inouye-Perez—and along with the dozen national championships, UCLA has finished 2^nd seven times. And it’s not just the team that’s back on top; pitcher/hitter Rachel Garcia captured her second straight NCAA DI Player of the Year honor in 2019.

To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: [email protected].

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UCLA is the brand name in college softball, just like the Yankees are in Major League Baseball, the Celtics and Lakers are in NBA hoops and, right now, the Patriots are in the NFL.

Typically, when a traditional power does well, it increases the interest in the sport as people love to root for—and against—the winners.

This year, the Bruins had everything needed to contend for another title, and win they did, capturing the school’s 12^th NCAA DI national championship in the 38 years that trophies have been awarded. Incidentally, the first one in 1982 was also won by UCLA and this year’s 2019 title was the longest the Pac-12 program had gone between championship (nine years).

But it’s not just the team that has received attention; Rachel Garcia won a second consecutive NCAA Player of the Year honor and two highly-touted freshman in pitcher Megan Faraimo and outfielder Kelli Godin, shined on the national stage and should make UCLA competitive for years to come.

And what a ending the Women’s College World Series had as UCLA and Oklahoma battled down to the very last play, which came on a throw to the plate!

*** Scroll down to read the Extra Inning Softball articles from 2019 that tracked UCLA’s team and player successes…

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