Rachel Garcia Ejected After Umpires Find Alleged Illegal Substance in Her Glove

Star pitcher Rachel Garcia was ejected from a Mexican Softball League (LMS) game on Thursday evening after umpires stated they found an illegal substance in her glove.

Garcia, who is spending her offseason playing for Bravas de Leon and is leading the league in total strikeouts (142), quickly took to social media to defend herself.

“I want to address the situation regarding my ejection for allegedly having illegal substances on my glove. Throughout my entire career, I have never broken the rules of the game or used any banned substances, she wrote on Instagram.

“I take pride in competing with integrity and respecting the game. I unequivocally disagree with the false accusation that was made, and I stand by the way I’ve always played the game.”

EXPULSAN A RACHEL GARCÍA

La estelar lanzadora de @bravasdeleon, Rachel García, fue expulsada del juego ante @DiablosRojosMX luego de que los umpires encontraron una sustancia ilegal en su guante.

La lanzadora, líder de ponches en la @LigaMexSoft, de inmediato colgó un mensaje… pic.twitter.com/q3G6IVkyKB
— Beisbolpuro (@Beisbolpuro) March 6, 2026

The league released a statement on Friday morning, and is allowing Garcia to continue playing.

“After a detailed review of the incident, it has been confirmed that the decision made on the field by the umpires was in accordance with the current regulations,” the league announced in the press release. "Upon detecting a prominent stain and a sticky substance on the player's glove, the officials acted correctly to safeguard the competitive integrity of the game."

“The Mexican Softball League reaffirms its commitment to fair play and will use this experience to review and, if necessary, update its internal regulations, in order to clarify criteria and reinforce clarity and transparency in the application of the rules.”

When the situation played out on the field, Garcia visibly laughed in shock after being questioned by the umpires. Bravas de Leon also posted on social media in support of their ace.

“Always with you, Rachel. We will never doubt your integrity and the quality of person you are on and off the field,” the team wrote on Instagram.

Garcia has played a vital role in the growth of softball at every level, making this accusation seem atypical.

At UCLA, she was a two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and a three-time recipient of the Honda Award. As a Bruin, she put up a 99-17 career record with 11 saves, 66 complete games, and 28 shutouts. She finished college with 996 strikeouts in 749.0 innings.

With Team USA, she piloted the Eagles to a gold at the 2025 World Games and a silver medal at the 2024 WBSC World Cup Finals and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At the 2022 Pan American Games, she went 3-0 in the circle with a 0.79 ERA and 23 strikeouts to grab gold.

With Athletes Unlimited, she was crowned AUX champion in 2023 after accumulating 1,392 leaderboard points over 10 games. She set a new AUX single-season record with 462 stat points and led the league with 220 MVP points.

Most recently, Garcia spent the 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) season with the Volts, throwing 54.2 innings with 51 strikeouts across 15 games. She was one of the players to be protected during the offseason and will return to the Volts in June.

LMS playoff action is set to begin on March 10, with the finals known as the Serie de la Reina, a best-of-five series, set for March 17.

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