High school softball teams across the Rio Grande Valley are entering the home stretch of the regular season with two weeks left to crown district champions and punch tickets to the postseason.
Among many tight district playoff races throughout the RGV, though, none are as close as District 32-6A.
The Harlingen South Hawks (14-1-1, 9-1) separated themselves from the pack in what’s been a frantic fight for the 32-6A district title.
The Hawks earned key wins over both Los Fresnos (14-2, 9-2) and Weslaco High (13-3, 8-3) last week to pull ahead of their two biggest challengers for the district championship.
The Falcons — who were swept by Harlingen South for their only two district losses — currently sit in second place, while the Panthers — who have lost to Harlingen High, Harlingen South and Los Fresnos once each — are in firm control of third.
Weslaco went head-to-head against Los Fresnos on Monday night, with the Panthers needing a victory to force a tie for second with two regular-season games remaining for each team.
The Falcons will later travel to Donna North and host Harlingen, while the Panthers will travel to Brownsville Hanna and host Brownsville Rivera to wrap up the regular season.
Harlingen, Rivera and San Benito, meanwhile, are all still in play to capture 32-6A’s fourth and final postseason berth.
Harlingen (8-6, 6-5) and San Benito (9-5, 6-5) are locked in a tie for fourth currently with Rivera (6-9-1, 5-6) trailing each by a game in the district standings.
The Raiders will have the most daunting path to the postseason, likely needing to sweep their final three games against Harlingen South, Harlingen and Weslaco to make the playoffs.
The Cardinals and Greyhounds squared off Monday night in a tiebreaker game, after Harlingen bested San Benito 5-2 during the first round of district play.
Harlingen will play road games at Rivera and Los Fresnos to finish the regular season, and San Benito will travel to Donna North and Harlingen South with the winner of Monday’s game gaining the inside track at securing a trip to the postseason.
POSTSEASON RACE FOR DISTRICT 31-6A’S THIRD, FOURTH SEEDS INTENSIFYING
PSJA North and Edinburg Vela look to have safely secured District 31-6A’s top two playoff seeds, but beyond that, the district’s postseason picture is beginning to look murkier by the day.
The Raiders (21-1, 14-1) are one win away from clinching the outright district title while four teams remain in the hunt for 31-6A’s final two postseason berths.
Mission High (11-6, 9-5) currently holds sole possession of third place with Edinburg High, Edinburg North and PSJA High not far behind.
The Bobcats (9-7, 9-6) and Cougars (13-6, 9-6) are deadlocked in fourth after splitting their season series half a game behind Mission, while the Bears (11-7, 8-7) retain an outside shot of sneaking into the playoffs.
The Eagles will face a pair of big tests against PSJA North tonight and Edinburg Vela on Friday. A win in either would guarantee Mission’s spot in the postseason and two victories would give the team 31-6A’s third seed.
Edinburg North will wrap up its regular season tonight at home against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, while Edinburg High and PSJA High will go head-to-head at the same time.
Both the Bobcats and Bears must win to keep their playoff dreams alive and hope for either a Cougars loss or two Eagles losses to get in. An Edinburg North victory and Edinburg High loss would secure the Cougars’ place in the postseason.
BROWNSVILLE VETS, EDCOUCH-ELSA, WESLACO EAST FIGHTING FOR PLAYOFF SEEDING
All of District 32-5A’s playoff berths have been won, but the district’s postseason seeding is still mostly up in the air.
Mercedes (12-4, 11-0) needs one more win during its last three games to secure the district championship and 32-5A’s top seed.
Edcouch-Elsa (9-7, 8-3), Weslaco East (11-5-1, 7-3) and Brownsville Veterans (11-5, 7-4), however, could all finish the regular season anywhere from second to fourth place.
The Yellow Jackets currently hold position of second place and face the most favorable road to lock up that seed with games remaining at Brownsville Lopez and Brownsville Porter, before hosting Brownsville Vets in its final district contest.
The Chargers will have to play catch up to overtake Edcouch-Elsa or East for second or third place and are set to host Brownsville Pace and travel to face the Yellow Jackets and Donna High in the next two weeks.
The Wildcats are the biggest wildcard of the bunch due to recent scheduling changes and will play Donna and Pace before playing a make-up game at Mercedes to close out the regular season.
PIONEER, ROWE, PSJA MEMORIAL BATTLING FOR 31-5A CROWN
Sharyland Pioneer (14-4-1, 11-1) was poised to run away with a district championship until a Friday loss to McAllen Rowe complicated 31-5A’s district title picture.
Rowe (10-7, 10-2) and PSJA Memorial (12-5, 10-2) will challenge the Diamondbacks for the 31-5A crown and the district’s top seed this week beginning with a game against one another tonight.
The D’backs and Wolverines each control their own destiny and will each capture the district title if they win out, while the Warriors will need to win out and hope for at least one more Pioneer loss.
Pioneer is set to face eighth-place Sharyland High tonight, before concluding its regular season against the Wolverines on Friday in Alamo and McAllen Memorial next week at home.
Rowe will travel to McAllen Memorial, 31-5A’s likely fourth seed heading into the playoffs, on Friday and host PSJA Southwest next week after hosting PSJA Memorial tonight.
PSJA Memorial will travel to Sharyland High for its regular-season finale next week after taking on Rowe and Pioneer.
VALLEY TEAMS POISED TO SWEEP 30-5A’S PLAYOFF BERTHS
District 30-5A is the Valley’s only 5A or 6A district not entirely composed of RGV squads, but a quartet of Rio Grande Valley teams are primed to sweep all four of its postseason berths.
Rio Grande City (9-3, 7-1) and Mission Veterans (8-5, 6-2) will vie for the district championship this week and both teams will likely take 30-5A’s top two playoff seeds.
The two squads face one another tonight in a game that will likely determine the district title, while the Patriots will end the regular season on the road Friday against Laredo Cigarroa and the Rattlers will host Laredo Martin in its season finale at the same time.
La Joya Palmview (7-2, 5-2) presently holds possession of third place with the opportunity to climb higher in the district standings.
Palmview, which clinched its first postseason appearance in program history with a win over Roma on Saturday, are the district’s hottest team, riding a four-game winning streak into the final week of district play.
The Lobos complete back-to-back games against Martin tonight, after winning Monday’s matchup, before hosting Roma in its last district game.
The Gladiators (3-7, 3-5) can lock up the district’s final playoff spot with a win over Cigarroa tonight or Palmview on Friday, or with multiple losses by Martin in its final three games against the Lobos and Rattlers.
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Twitter: @ByAndyMcCulloch
