KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
The time has come.
The 2019 softball season is here and has softball fans geared up and eager to see their teams trot onto the field.
Friday marked the first day of practice. On Jan. 26, teams will open up with scrimmages, and on Feb. 11, the regular season will begin.
Softball in the Rio Grande Valley has become a hot commodity and the Valley, has watched teams take the next step in the playoffs, and through select ball and offseason programs, we have seen the improvement on the field.
While San Benito cracked open the door in 2013 by becoming the first softball team from the Valley to reach the state tournament, the Lady ’Hounds followed it with another trip to the state tournament in 2015.
In 2016, the Weslaco High Lady Panthers became the second team to reach the state tournament.
Rio Hondo fell just shy of reaching the state tournament in 2017, but the Lady Bobcats reached the regional final.
That same year, Harlingen South and Weslaco High reached the sweet 16.
While 2018 fell short of expectations, Edinburg Vela and San Benito were the two remaining teams who reached the Sweet 16.
The question heading into the 2019 season is, which team will rekindle that 2013 San Benito magic and make a run to Austin?
There are plenty of teams who have the pieces in play to make a run. San Benito, Edinburg High, Harlingen South, Rio Hondo, Lyford and Brownsville Veterans Memorial are a few teams that just might be playing in late May and possibly early June.
Time will tell on whether the Valley will make that next step and compete at the state tournament, but one thing is for certain, RGV softball is, and has been, on the rise.