Good Sports: Woodlake High Softball celebrates first-ever state regional championship

WOODLAKE, Calif. (KFSN) -- A parade fit for champions.

This past week, the Woodlake High softball team made history.

"We showed everybody and proved everybody wrong that we, not only are a small school, we can do lot of things that other big schools can do," Tigers Senior shortstop Neomi Aldana said.

The Tigers capped off a jaw-dropping 30-1 season by beating Pioneer Valley on the road in Santa Maria to claim the program's first-ever SoCal state championship.

"When we do our job, we really don't think there's anybody that can beat us at our level," Tigers head coach Ramon Lara said.

Over the past two seasons, the Tigers have only lost four games.

Their most dramatic win came in the D-V Central Section title game against Porterville with an error-induced walk-off at Margie Wright Diamond.

But the Tigers would fall in the state playoff semi-finals.

"From day one, their mindset was Valley is great but we thought we underperformed at the state level," coach Lara said.

Hungry for more, the Tigers would repeat as Central Section champions. This time in D-IV.

"It was just amazing and a very surreal moment once we won," Tigers senior RHP Audrina Rodriguez said.

With back-to-back Central Section titles and a state region title in house. Their legacy is cemented.

And so too are their friendships.

"It's like a sisterhood. We're all really close," Tigers Junior first baseman Marriah Ellis said.

"The dugout is never boring," Tigers Sophomore right fielder Alexis Rodriguez said.

With a dugout full of trophies and smiles, coach Lara hopes their historical run can inspire the next generation of tigers.

"If we put in the same work they've done over the years, we potentially can also do the same," he said.

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