Perfect: Palo Verde softball caps undefeated season with title — PHOTOS
RENO — The Palo Verde softball team completed a historic undefeated season with a 7-3 victory over Centennial in the Class 5A state championship game Saturday at UNR’s Hixson Park.
Palo Verde (25-0) is the state’s first undefeated softball champion, according to known Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association records.
“We went undefeated. It’s literally the best feeling in the world,” Palo Verde senior catcher Paige Brandes said. “It’s so cool to make history. It’s a feeling I can’t even describe. It’s so cool.”
Rancho went 16-0 in 1974, but that was before softball was an NIAA-sanctioned sport. Bishop Gorman was 15-0 in 2021, but there was no official state tournament that year because of COVID-19.
The Panthers, the Southern Region champions, defeated the Bulldogs (20-15), the South’s No. 2 seed, for the sixth time this season, including twice in Reno.
It’s a championship three years in the making for the Panthers, who advanced to the 5A state tournament the past two seasons but fell short of the title.
“I don’t really think we knew it was history,” junior Taylor Johns said. “Our seniors have been here for all three of the years we went to state, and I know it’s the best ending for them.”
Palo Verde got the scoring started in the second inning, loading the bases for Haley Kearnes. Hitting in the No. 9 hole, she smacked a double to left field, clearing the bases and giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead.
In the next at-bat, Makayla Enriquez lined a double to bring in Kearnes.
The Panthers tacked on two more runs in the third to go in front 6-0. Alexis Kearnes plated the first run of the inning with a double to center field, scoring Ava Cruz, who was the courtesy runner for Mya Bartlett after she reached on an error.
Palo Verde pitcher Ava Koenig followed with an RBI groundout to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead.
“I think we adjusted really well (at the plate),” said Johns, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored. “(Alexis Kearnes) has been doing so good. I think this week meant a lot to her.”
Alexis Kearnes ended the title game 3-for-4 with the RBI.
Brandes went 3-for-3 in the final game of her high school career.
“We’ve been close three times now, and it’s been so close every single time,” Brandes said. “My senior year we went undefeated. It’s the best feeling in the whole world.”
Centennial put up its first run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Sydnee Smith.
Smith got her second RBI in the sixth to bring Centennial within 6-2, but the Panthers got the run right back in the bottom half on a Bartlett RBI single.
While Palo Verde’s bats put the lineup at ease, the Panthers’ defense was more than capable of keeping the Bulldogs from getting within striking distance.
Sophia Quigley laid out to make a diving catch in the fifth that prevented the Bulldogs from extra bases.
The inning finished when Alexis Kearnes sprinted into foul ground and made a catch up against the fence.
“We made a good run,” Centennial coach Mike Livreri said. “We put ourselves in the opportunity to play for a championship, but lost to the better team. Palo had our number, and they were the best team in the state this year.”