For the second time this season, the PSJA High Bears cracked the latest edition of the Texas Girls Coaches Association statewide softball poll. The Bears joined four other elite Rio Grande Valley teams in the TGCA rankings from Class 3A to 6A.
PSJA High joined Edinburg Vela and Weslaco High in a crowded Class 6A top 25. The Bears broke back into the poll by capturing the No. 19 spot after a two-week absence from the rankings when they were last ranked 12th in the state.
PSJA improved to 18-3-1 after getting off to a red-hot start in tournament play to begin the season, completing an undefeated run through the Mission Fastpitch Festival and playing into the championship game at Laredo’s Border Olympics.
The Bears won their only game of district play, a 14-3 road victory over La Joya High.
Vela and Weslaco, both of which were in last week’s rankings, each dropped one spot in this week’s poll falling to No. 8 and No. 25 in Class 6A, respectively.
The Panthers made their season debut in the TGCA rankings last week after tallying a 15-4-2 record. Weslaco put together a dominant run in the La Joya Tournament at the end of February and won its only district game, a three-inning 17-0 victory over Edinburg Economedes.
The SaberCats, meanwhile, fell to their lowest ranking of the season after amassing a stellar 18-3 overall record. Vela went 4-1 through the Mission Fastpitch Festival in the first week of the season and followed that with 5-1 runs through the La Joya and Brownsville ISD Tournaments.
The SaberCats combined to defeat Edinburg North and Economedes 34-7 in their two district contests. Edinburg Vela remains the only Valley team to have made the TGCA preseason rankings and maintained a spot in the top 10 through every week of the season.
Sharyland Pioneer, the RGV’s only representative in the Class 5A rankings, dropped one spot from No. 19 to 20. The Diamondbacks put together a 14-4 record after winning the Marble Falls Tournament in February and putting together strong showings at the Mission Fastpitch Festival and the San Benito Tournament.
Pioneer quickly established itself as a favorite in District 31-5A after combining to beat La Joya Palmview and Sharyland High 23-4 in its two most recent district contests.
Finally, Lyford, the highest ranked Valley team in the state at any classification level, stayed put at No. 5 in the Class 3A poll after making its season debut there a week ago.
The Bulldogs pieced together a 16-1 record after a dominant run through tournament play in which they won both the Los Fresnos-Port Isabel Tournament and the San Benito Tournament in back-to-back weeks.
Lyford started the season on a 16-game winning streak before falling to Harlingen South 11-5 on the road in its most recent contest.