After capturing its first playoff win last season, Palmer Ridge softball is hungry to get back to the state tournament.

It’s off to an exceptional start.

The Bears took down Discovery Canyon 8-3 on the road Wednesday to improve to 7-0 while also holding the state’s No. 1 ranking. The team’s words of the season are pressure and energy, and it used both en route to victory over the Thunder.

“That’s what we’ve done each game and it seems to be working,” coach Dion Arellano said. “One game at a time, keep adding pressure, doing little things hard and fast. Our biggest positive attribute is putting pressure on teams. We may hit the ball hard, but hit the bases harder and pressure them to potentially make a mistake.”

Palmer Ridge started off hot Wednesday with a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Discovery Canyon was able to slow it down through two innings and a run by Ruby Campbell put the Thunder on the board.

The Bears responded with two runs in the next inning, starting with an RBI triple by senior Macy Smith, and three more over the next two innings. A home run by Taylor McCann in the bottom of the sixth added two more runs for the Thunder, but it wasn’t enough to hold off dominant Palmer Ridge.

“This is a game we always like to play and we just came out aggressive and did the best we could,” sophomore Kayleigh Garcia said. “It’s exciting to be undefeated but that’s what should be expected. We want to be the best team we can be and we want to win state.”

The Bears used energy from their dugout, which was never silent, to propel them to victory.

“They came out with the objective to close it and they did,” Arellano said. “You can tell who’s winning by the energy from a dugout or in the field. You can feel it and if you can have high energy, which is one of the factors that helps you win, why not control that?

“When you build that energy, that creates a positive vibe and the girls start playing good just because you control that energy. We preach that about five times an inning. We are always talking about energy.”

The Bears are happy with an unblemished record, but are walking away with a next-game mentality.

“Seven and zero is tough, it doesn’t matter who you play,” Arellano said. “We knew this game would be emotional because it’s relatively local and the girls know each other. So we try to block out who our opponent is and just play softball.”

“It doesn’t matter who we are playing, we are coming out with the same intensity and competitiveness to beat anyone in our way,” senior Corinna Arellano said. “Our sights are super high. Seven and zero is something we expected for the season so that mindset helps us reach our goals.”

As far as their No. 1 ranking, that hasn’t affected them much either.

“Being No. 1 is good but it’s still early,” coach Arellano said. “We want to be No. 1 in the end and that’s what we are striving for. Taking it one game at a time. We tell them to just hit the ball and put pressure on. If you want to stay winning you have to put pressure. We just want to play hard.”

Another factor that has contributed to the Bears’ success is their camaraderie on and off the field.

“We have built super good relationships with each other and have an environment where everyone is happy to be here, happy to work hard and support one another,” Corinna Arellano said. “We want everyone to succeed. We’re rooting for each other all the time.”

The Bears lost in the quarterfinals last year, but their state appearance certainly strengthened their bond, and the team is more motivated to win it all for each other.

“There’s no doubt that having a sense of winning helps the girls. It’s like sugar, once you get a taste of it you want some more,” coach Arellano said. “Last year they got a taste of electricity from the state tournament. We feed off of last year but also the last win. It’s been fun that way. The girls now know they can get there so we are just building off of that.”