A trio of the Rio Grande Valley’s top Class 5A and 6A high school softball teams, all of which are looking to lock up district championships this week, retained their statewide rankings in the latest edition of the Texas Girls Coaches Association polls released Monday.
Mercedes (12-2) moved up one spot to No. 16 in the TGCA 5A Top 25 poll as the team continued to dominate District 32-6A.
The Tigers steamrolled Brownsville Porter last Tuesday and shut out Brownsville Veterans on Friday, defeating both teams by a combined score of 28-1 to improve to 11-0 against district competition.
Mercedes, which enters its third consecutive week in the poll and the second straight week as the RGV’s only state-ranked 5A squad, has clinched at least a share of the District 32-5A championship.
The Tigers will return to action to host Brownsville Lopez at 7 p.m. Friday, before concluding their regular season with games against Donna High and Weslaco East on Tuesday and Friday of next week, respectively.
PSJA North (21-1) climbed eight spots up to seventh in the TGCA’s Class 6A poll, after seizing at least a share of the District 31-6A title during a week of blowout victories.
The Raiders rebounded after losing their first game of the season to Edinburg High by tallying three consecutive shutout wins against PSJA High, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and Edinburg Economedes.
PSJA North crushed the Bears, Huskies and Jaguars by scoring a combined 56 runs in those three contests as the team prepares to make a postseason push.
The Raiders will wrap up their regular-season slate with a chance to take the outright District 31-6A title, when they host Mission High at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Harlingen South (14-1-1) earned the final spot among Valley teams in the 6A statewide rankings this week after sliding three spots to No. 22 overall.
The Hawks set themselves apart from the rest of the pack in a deep District 32-6A with a pair of huge wins against district title contenders Weslaco High on Tuesday and Los Fresnos on Friday.
South has now won seven consecutive games against 32-6A opponents, after suffering its only loss of the season against Weslaco in mid-March.
The Hawks conclude their regular season with home games against Brownsville Rivera at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and San Benito at the same time Friday before hitting the road for their district finale at Brownsville Hanna on Tuesday next week.
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