Rivalry Week Reflection: Varsity Softball Battles City Rivals

Last week, Varsity Ranger softball battled their biggest rivals, Mt. Whitney and El Diamante. The Rangers went 1-1 with a blowout win against Mt. Whitney won by the score of 25-3 and a devastating loss to El Diamante by the score of 4-1.

By: Aaliyah Guerrero

The Rangers have had an excellent season with an East Yosemite League record of 5-1, they are currently tied with El Diamante.

Kendra Estrada, ‘24, is leading the team in batting average and on-base percentage (OBP) with a .489 batting average and a .564 OBP. Estrada said that despite the loss the team performed very well and is very proud of them, “I think we did great during the games, we might not win all our games but, we played our best and I’m really proud of us.”

With only 4 games left in the Rangers regular season, Estrada has big aspirations for the playoffs. Estrada believes that the team has great potential to go all the way. The team is stacked with great players and the team has amazing team chemistry, she says, “My expectations for the league is to win. We are a great group of girls that are very talented and we have great potential to win.”

#5 Mackenzie Cantu, ’26 Photo A.Ozturk/Gigantea

As playoffs rapidly approaches every game is bittersweet for the graduating class. Estrada soaks up every last moment of their time in high school sports before they are off to bigger and better things. They discuss what their favorite part of playing for the team Estrada says, “My favorite part of playing with the team is just the people. The players, the coaches, and the fans all make it what it is. The energy they bring and the chemistry makes all the hard work worth it.”

Mackenzie Cantu, ‘26, is a two-year varsity player. She has loved playing with her team all season. She says, “the best part about playing is the team, we’re all amazing athletes that bond very well together.”

Cantu is very proud of her team’s performance. She believes that they have dedicated a lot of time and effort to grow as a team; she says, “The games went really well we have a lot of hard workers that are all working towards the same goal.”

Cantu is one of three players who have been on Varsity since freshman year; she has had many highlights within her 2 years. This year one of the main highlights is her ability to pick balls at first base, she says, “A personal highlight I’ve had is when I had to go into a full split to get a girl out at first.”