Thursday morning, representatives from Gatorade surprised Rachel Garcia, the outstanding pitcher and hitter from Highland High School in Palmdale, Calif., by showing up at her Southern California high school and announcing that she was selected as the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year.

It was a much-needed boost of good news for the star senior who suffered what looks to be a torn meniscus in her left knee during Highland’s championship game on Saturday, June 6 in Irvine, Calif.

Rachel pitched 12 innings with 24 strikeouts in her final high school game, but left prior to the bottom of the 13^th when she was injured during warm-ups. She will have surgery on Monday (June 22) to repair the tear and examine the extent of the injury.

The UCLA signee, who was also the Gatorade State Player of the Year as a sophomore, had a fantastic year on and off the field as she:

• led her team to a 28-3 record and the CIF-Southern Section Div. IV title game
• struck out 418 batters in 175 innings pitched, allowing just 37 hits and 13 walks while throwing 20 shutouts, including 10 no-hitters and five perfect games
• batted .667 with 20 home runs, 57 RBIs and a 1.412 slugging percentage
• was invited in January to be a member of the USA Softball Junior Women’s National team
• maintained a 3.43 weighted GPA in the classroom
• volunteered at a women’s shelter, served as a youth softball coach, helped create an initiative to contribute goods and services to the needy in her community, and offered free pitching lessons to girls of local families battling financial hardship

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. In addition to athletic excellence, the award recognizes academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the field.

This year celebrates the program’s 30^th anniversary. In that time, Gatorade has honored more than 13,000 State Players of the Year and 270 National Players of the Year, including many top professional athletes, such as Peyton Manning, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, Kerri Walsh, Derek Jeter, and Emmitt Smith. For more information, visit www.gatorade.com/poy