UCLA freshman Rachel Garcia throws 282 pitches in two games

LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA pitcher Rachel Garcia followed a marathon start with a shutdown finish.

A night after throwing a whopping 232 pitches in 11 innings for a complete-game win, the redshirt freshman came back Friday with four hitless innings of relief to put the Bruins softball team into the College World Series with a 1-0 win over Mississippi.

Garcia opened the best-of-three NCAA super regional by going the distance in an 8-7 win over the Rebels on Thursday. She then followed Selina Ta'amilo and threw 50 pitches for the victory in the clincher for UCLA (47-13).

Garcia struck out 12 and walked five Thursday night at Easton Stadium. She also homered in the second inning and hit a two-out single in the 10th, beginning a two-run rally.

Her previous high pitch count was 129.

Her opponent in Game 1 was no slouch, either. Kaitlin Lee threw 191 pitches for the Rebels (43-20).

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