Aleena Garcia, a redshirt freshman shortstop for the No. 10 UCLA softball team, was named Defender of the Week by Softball America on April 7. Garcia’s defensive efforts contributed to four wins for the Bruins against Hawai’i and Indiana.
The recognition highlights Garcia’s strong performance in the field, where she recorded 16 putouts and eight assists without an error, achieving a perfect fielding percentage over the week.
Garcia’s defense stood out during Game 2 of the Indiana series. In one notable play during the fifth inning, she made a diving catch in shallow left field. She followed this with another key moment in the sixth inning by preventing a runner from advancing into scoring position when she fielded a high chopper and sprinted to second base for a force out. Earlier in that game, she also executed a backhand play deep in the hole between third base and shortstop before throwing to first for an out.
In Sunday’s series finale on April 5, Garcia helped end an inning with a double play after fielding a ground ball, taking care of the force at second herself before completing the throw to first base.
The Bruins are scheduled to return to action this evening with a non-conference game at Cal State Fullerton at Anderson Family Field starting at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
