Redwood tops Garces softball in 8 to win D-2 title

FRESNO - For a championship game, the billing was absolutely correct. Friday night's CIF Central Section Division 2 meeting between No. 3 seed Visalia Redwood and No. 1 Garces at Fresno State's Margie Wright Diamond delivered.

True to the play of both teams, from ace pitchers, capable, clutch offenses and defenses that were locked in, it needed more time to determine a winner. On this night, the Rangers got an RBI single by Jaden Lopez for a 1-0 victory in eight innings and claimed the title.

"We're obviously disappointed, but we played a great ballgame against a great team," Garces head coach Kelly Olson said. "I couldn't be more proud of our girls. "They left everything they had on the field."

Garces, playing its first CIF section title game since 2013, featured a young, highly-talented and no-senior team. It got a strong pitching performance from sophomore left-hander Jaiden Gutierrez. Redwood countered with junior Jackie Ramirez, who was equally adept at keeping Garces' offense at bay. They each went the distance in the circle. Gutierrez gave up seven hits, struck out five and walked two. Ramirez scattered five hits, walked none and struck out 12.

"It was a pitcher's duel for the ages," Olson said, praising both pitchers while also standing up for his player. "I've been saying it all year: She's amazing. I think she's the most outstanding player in Kern County. We have a great team around her but we're definitely not the same team without Jaiden. This was the most pressurized game a 16-year-old could play in, but you couldn't tell from her expression whether it was going good or bad, pitch after pitch."

She had four 1-2-3 innings and got out of two more facing just four batters. In the fifth, Gutierrez gave up a one-out double to Aubrie Jenkins and yet got the following two batters, catching a line drive comeback and striking out Carsyn Mascorro to end the threat.

In the sixth inning, Garces' prime opportunity came when Viviana Sanchez hit a ball deep to left field and reached second. Pinch-runner Annabelle Mendez went to third on Izzy Frye's grounder for the second out. Evangeline Krause took a Ramirez pitch and smacked it to the right side, only to have first baseman Kenzie Cantu reach out and make a snow cone catch for the final out and strand the Rams' runner.

Redwood got close in the seventh, even loading the bases with one out after Gutierrez walked Jenkins. Mackenzie King's ground ball was collected and thrown to home plate to get the force out and Emily Webster hit a ball right to Gutierrez that she caught to end the threat.

"With the bases loaded and one out, Jaiden just kept making pitches and got out of it. She was truly remarkable," Olson said.

Garces was unable to capitalize on stopping Redwood with a 1-2-3 seventh by Ramirez and move to the eighth inning. It was only the second time in which Garces didn't get at least one runner on base in an inning.

After two outs, Kyrie Rodriguez was safe on a throw by Garces shortstop Serenity Ward. Gutierrez walked Cantu and Lopez came up, hit a ball to centerfield that Reese Bowles had to run down, got a piece of it in her glove, but the ball came out, enabling Rodriguez to score and Cantu got to third. Gutierrez got Rayah Rodriguez to pop up to Izzy Frye at first to end the threat.

Garces' batters in the bottom of the eighth were the No. 9 hitter, Paige Dixon, who made contact with the ball in front of the plate, but the Redwood catcher made an impressive leap forward to catch the ball for the first out. Bowles tried to bunt her way on, but Redwood got her out at first. Lila Gannaway delivered a single to give the Rams a glimpse of hope and to start something, but Sanchez popped up to first base for the final out.

Redwood players celebrated and Garces players were numb and shed tears.

"Softball is a metaphor for life," Olson said after the team had a brief talk on the field. "You're going to have setbacks, but I know the heart of this team. We're going to keep getting better."

Postgame encouragement also came from Dixon, who earlier this season played a major role on the Rams' girls soccer team's CIF Central Section Division 1 title win. She reminded her softball teammates about how much the soccer team learned after losing a CIF title match her freshman year. It was an attempt to put things into perspective and a reminder to keep working hard.

"It was an amazing game, high-quality softball," Olson said. "We had chances and they made a great play. They had some chances and we made some great plays and it just didn't go our way. But we're young and we're going to be around for a while."

Garces (25-6) now awaits the announcement of the CIF Southern California regional playoff bracket of who and where it will play on Tuesday.

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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 5:21 AM.