So what does Washington get by surviving a pair of elimination games Saturday? A much tougher task Sunday.
That would be having to win two straight games over second-seeded UCLA, which not only swept a three-game series at UW in March, but has pitcher Rachel Garcia, the two-time national player of the year.
Garcia won two of UCLA’s three games in Seattle, not allowing an earned run in 12 innings, while allowing eight hits, three walks and striking out 16. She also had six hits in 10 at-bats against UW.
Garcia (26-1), a junior, is 2-0 at the Women’s College World Series, but she is not invincible, having allowed two runs to both Minnesota and Arizona, raising her season ERA to 1.