Pleasant Grove High School’s softball team finished the 2022-2023 season as the No. 45-ranked team in California, its highest ranking since 2014.

The Eagles entered this year’s playoffs with an overall record of 24-6 and the Delta League championship. They won their first two playoff games – 19-0 against Johnson and 2-1 against Gregori – before losing a 6-5 heartbreaker to Inderkum in the semifinals.

A year ago, the Eagles lost in the first round in the Division 1 playoffs.

Right-handed pitcher and infielder Alexa Lewis, a junior, said a great amount of practice went into the success of this year’s team.

“We really made sure our offense was on key and our hitting was good, which scores us runs and helps us win the game,” Lewis said. “We (had) an amazing starting pitcher (Madeline Lawson) who also helped us greatly, along with the infield.”

Lewis said her game has improved, with the help of motivated coaches who want to see the team succeed.

“In high school softball, I feel like I get more reps in and it is really good preparation for the travel softball season,” Lewis said. “I also think that my coaches are really great and they put in a great amount of effort to support us.”

Junior Lindsay Paredes, who has been playing softball since she was four, said the team dynamic is great, and that the Eagles get along with each other extremely well.

“We just need to have fun,” Paredes said. “We work better when we aren’t stressed and we are goofing around and having fun playing the game.”

Freshman Audrey Chase said she enjoyed the season and hopes the team makes it far into the playoffs next year.

“I think that the softball team is a very great program and they are an amazing hardworking group of girls,” Chase said. “Whenever I go to a softball game, I can easily see how the girls are very excited and pumped up to play.”

The competition in the playoffs is different from the regular season because every team has the talent, demeanor and will to make it far in the postseason. So, there is much less room for error. In the regular season, there is time to feel out opponents and beat them.

“Franklin High School was our No. 1 competitor, but we learned how to adjust to what they (did),” Paredes said. “We ended up defeating them in one of our last league games.”

“I think that our biggest competitor (was) ourselves in the postseason,” Lewis said. “We really (had) to adjust to a bunch of pitching that we’re not used to.”