Ticket Punched: Bruins Heading Back to OKC!

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LOS ANGELES - In her final game as a Bruin on the Easton Stadium diamond, senior Rachel Garcia spun a gem, striking out 13 in a two-hit shutout, as the second-ranked Bruins punched their ticket to the Women's College World Series with a 6-0 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday in Game 3 of the Los Angeles Super Regional.

The Bruins (46-5) advance to their record 30th WCWS and will play No. 10-seed Florida State in the opening round on Thursday, June 3 in Oklahoma City on ESPN. Game time will be announced on Sunday.

Garcia (17-1) struck out the side in the fourth and seventh innings and two apiece in the second, fifth and sixth. She posted 1-2-3 frames in the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh. The only base runners allowed were a two-out single in the first and a leadoff double in the fifth. At the plate, UCLA had six different players record its six hits.

A couple of errors in the first two innings contributed to the Bruins' first two runs. Junior Aaliyah Jordan led off with an infield single and Garcia followed with a single to left. One out later, both runners moved up on a ground out by freshman Maya Brady. Junior Briana Perez then tapped a ball to second, but it was misplayed, as Jordan came home with UCLA's first tally.

In the second, freshman Alyssa Garcia was hit by a pitch, and pinch-run for by freshman Lauryn Carter, who stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Jordan reached on another Virginia Tech (37-15) error.

UCLA left the yard for the first time in the third, as Perez connected on her 13th of the season on a shot to right-center to make it 3-0.

The Bruins broke it open in the fifth. Rachel Garcia led off with a walk, junior Delanie Wisz reached on an error and Brady crushed her 13th home run of the season to right-center to extend the advantage to 6-0.