KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star
Softball’s regular season wrapped up Friday night and the playoffs are now slated to begin as early as Thursday.
Harlingen South, San Benito, Rio Hondo and Lyford are all in the postseason, and are primed for deep runs.
LADY HAWKS: Harlingen South finished the regular season on a high note by thumping Brownsville Rivera 18-0 on Friday night. South finished with a 12-2 District 32-6A record and will be the second seed out of the league.
The Lady Hawks will begin their playoff journey Thursday at home as they kick off a best-of-three series against PSJA Memorial.
Game 1 begins at 7 p.m., Game 2 is at 7 on Friday at PSJA Memorial and Game 3, if needed, is at 3 p.m. back at Lady Hawk Field on Saturday.
SAN BENITO: The Lady Hounds clinched the District 32-6A title with an 11-0 win against Harlingen High on Friday night. San Benito mashed five homers in their win. Kari Cisneros hit a pair of homers and has now hit three dingers in two games. Meanwhile, Aaliyah Rangel, AJ Jasso and Deztiny Hernandez also went yard in the win.
San Benito finished the regular season with a 13-1 district record and is heading into the postseason on a 10-game win streak.
The Lady Hounds will meet Edinburg North in a one-game playoff at 7 p.m. Friday at Edinburg North.
RIO HONDO: The Lady Cats cruised to their fifth straight District 32-4A title on Friday and completed a perfect 14-0 league run with a 4-3 win over Port Isabel.
They will now meet Robstown in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Robstown, Game 2 is at 7:30 Friday at Rio Hondo and Game 3, if necessary, gets underway at 5 p.m. Saturday at Raymondville High School.
“We saw them (Robstown) earlier this year; they’re a scrappy ballclub and they’re well coached,” said Rio Hondo coach Brett Esparza. “Their pitcher does well and she has some good stuff. We know that this 4A first round is equal to a third-round matchup in Class 6A. This is a big round for us and we know through this round comes big things.”
LYFORD: The Lady Bulldogs won their second straight District 32-3A title with a 6-5 win over Santa Rosa on Friday night. The Lady Dogs completed a perfect 9-0 run.
Evelyn Ortiz pitched a complete game and stuck out 11 batters on Friday. Ortiz helped her own cause by collecting two hits in the win.
Lyford is now awaiting their playoff opponent. Banquete and Falfurrias will have a play-in game Monday and the winner there will meet Lyford in the bi-district round.