Rachel Garcia and the University of California Los Angeles shut down the Wildcat lineup and lit up Taylor McQuillin to hand the University of Arizona its first loss of the Women’s College World Series 2-6.
Some of the biggest rivalries in sports went head-to-head Friday night: The Yankees took on the Red Sox; the Cardinals played the Cubs; and Arizona took on UCLA in a winner’s bracket game at the WCWS.
Arizona won two out of three games in the regular season against the Bruins and UCLA was looking for revenge.
Arizona and UCLA are the two most successful schools in softball history, and the last time these two teams faced off in OKC was the championship series back in 2010. The Bruins swept the Wildcats in two games to win its 11th NCAA Championship.
McQuillin pitched again for the Wildcats as she faced the two-time player of the year Garcia for the Bruins.
McQuillin worked in and out of trouble all day, only allowing one run on a Garcia sac-fly in the top of the third. The Arizona offense was only one of two teams to beat Garcia the entire regular season. Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza would finally get Arizona on the board with a solo home run to right field in the bottom half of the third inning.
Malia Quarles would add another run for UCLA and break the tie in the top of the sixth with a solo home run to center field.
Arizona would come right back in the bottom half of the sixth and get runners to second and third base with one out. But Garcia would then get a strike out and popout to end the inning and the Arizona threat.
The Bruins would add on in the top of the seventh with a triple to score a run, a sacrifice fly and then a two run double on a dropped ball by left fielder Carli Campbell and all of a sudden the Bruins went up 6-1. And with the two-time national player of the year in the circle, it would be more than enough. Palomino-Cardoza would add another solo home run late, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough for the ‘Cats.
Arizona will now go to the losers bracket where they will take on the winner of Alabama vs. Florida State Saturday night 6:30 p.m. MST.
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