The Mercedes Tigers joined a trio of Class 6A Rio Grande Valley high school softball teams in the latest edition of the Texas Girls Coaches Association statewide rankings

The Mercedes Tigers continued to climb this week’s Texas Girls Coaches Association high school softball polls, joining a trio of Class 6A teams representing the Rio Grande Valley in the most recent edition of the statewide rankings.

Mercedes (12-2), the Valley’s only sub-6A squad to appear in the most recent TGCA softball polls, moved up six spots to No. 17 overall in the Class 5A poll after making its debut in the rankings last week.

The Tigers have dominated their District 32-5A competition thus far, tallying a 10-0 record in district play and winning a majority of those games by double digits.

Mercedes has held its 32-5A opponents to less than two runs in eight of its last 10 games and scored 114 runs as a team during its current 10-game winnings streak.

The Tigers, who beat Brownsville Porter 16-1 in three innings Tuesday night, will make their return to the diamond for a road game against Brownsville Veterans at 6 p.m. Friday.

Rio Grande City, which made its first TGCA 5A poll appearance at No. 25 last week, dropped out of this week’s rankings after splitting a pair of games against District 30-5A rival La Joya Palmview.

Los Fresnos (12-1) retook the top spot among RGV softball teams in the TGCA 6A poll for the first time since early March, climbing two spots to No. 11 overall this week.

The Falcons have maintained a slight lead on first place within an ultra-competitive District 32-6A thanks to a six-game winning streak in district play that included an 8-0 victory over San Benito on Tuesday night.

Los Fresnos will return to action for a de-facto game for first place in 32-6A when it travels to face Harlingen South at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Harlingen South (13-1-1), meanwhile, fell four spots down to No. 19 in the latest rankings after a hard-fought 14-12 win over Harlingen High in Round 2 of the Bird Bowl softball rivalry last week.

The Hawks have also won their last six district games in a row, including an 8-1 victory over Weslaco High on Tuesday to avenge their only district loss of the season so far.

Harlingen South can move into sole possession of first place and split the season series against Los Fresnos with a win over the Falcons on Friday, while a Hawks’ loss would give Los Fresnos a one-game lead over Harlingen South and a season sweep.

PSJA North (12-1) rounded out the Rio Grande Valley’s contingent of TGCA state-ranked 6A teams this week, falling eight spots down to No. 15.

The Raiders, who were the Valley’s last remaining unbeaten 5A or 6A squads, suffered their first loss of the season in a 6-0 defeat to Edinburg High.

North responded with a dominant 18-0 victory over the PSJA High Bears in Round 2 of the Tri-City Classic softball rivalry Tuesday night to get back in the win column.

The Raiders have scored 10 runs or more in seven of their last eight games and maintain a one-game lead over Edinburg Vela, whom they have defeated twice already this year, for first place in District 31-6A.

PSJA North will play a pair of its final three district games this weekend when the team hosts La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at 7 p.m. Friday and travels to face Edinburg Economedes at 11 a.m. Saturday.

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