By Kevin Lonnquist
NTX Varsity Sports Columnist
Late April means two things. First, the high school playoffs are starting. Second, this is the beginning of the end of the current school year.
By the time we reach Memorial Day, a decent number of high schools will either have gone through graduation or concluded classes.
If your favorite softball team is still playing while navigating through the cap and gown ceremony, then that means they are enjoying a great postseason run.
The state softball tournament is May 28-20 at Red & Charline McCombs Field at the University of Texas in Austin.
For the NTX Varsity Sports coverage area, there is a healthy representation of those who aspire to play on that field. There are 13 teams moving on to the postseason.
The breakdown. Records are in brackets:
Class 6A (1): Weatherford (13-16)
Class 5A (2): Aledo (23-9), Cleburne (16-18)
Class 4A (6): Krum (17-10-2), Eagle Mountain (19-13-1), Decatur (11-9), Springtown (21-10), Mineral Wells (22-8), Glen Rose (18-13-1)
Class 3A (3): Boyd (29-2), Paradise (25-6-1), Malakoff (20-11)
Class 2A (1): Mildred (15-11-2)
The journeys for some could be considered routine. Aledo and Boyd won district championships. In fact, Aledo, which is in the land of district winning streaks, will take a 66-game district winning streak going into the 2027 season when the program moves to Class 6A in 2026-27. That streak started in 2021.
Boyd has its own streak going. It’s won 24 straight moving into the playoffs.
Then there are the stories where teams found a way to qualify. For Cleburne and Krum, they needed extra games to do it.
Cleburne trailed Mansfield Timberview for the final District 8-5A playoff spot with five games to play. But the Lady Jackets overcame the deficit. They won their last five that included a win over Timberview and forced the playoff play-in game with Timberview this past Monday in Alvarado. The Lady Jackets won the decider, 6-2, to be a part of the Division I Region I bracket.
Krum finished in a three-way for the final two berths in District 10-4A with Aubrey and Frisco Panther Creek. Because these three teams went 2-2 against each other, there had to be a three-team playoff earlier this week. Krum did its job and beat Panther Creek, 8-7, to secure the third playoff spot and play in the Division II Region II bracket.
Now, with the area playoff field set, let’s evaluate the field and see who has what it takes to make a deep run.
Poised for a deep run
Aledo
The Lady Cats have an interesting best-of-three series with Birdville in the Class 5A Division I Region I opening round starting Thursday in Aledo. Friday is at Birdville. A possible deciding third game would be Saturday in Kennedale.
This is a rematch from the 2025 regional finals. It’s also the third consecutive postseason these two have faced each other.
Aledo will be favored. Should the Lady Cats get through this, then the rest of Region I becomes a little more favorable. A chance to reach the state semifinals for the third straight year is possible.
Head Coach Heather Myers’ team may not be as deep as her previous two. But Aledo knows how to win.
Boyd
Led by pitcher Abby Atkinson, the Lady Jackets are looking to at least return to the regional finals like they did in 2025.
This team has another year of experience and is more polished offensively moving into the Class 3A Division II Region II bracket. Boyd should at least return to the regional semifinals.
Grand Saline is a pretty solid group. But Boyd would not see them until the regional finals. Of course, there’s a chance they could see Paradise, which is in the same region. The Lady Panthers enjoyed a great season and could win a couple of postseason rounds.
Teams to watch
I think Springtown has a chance to make it to the Class 4A Division I Region I semifinals. The first part of the Lady Pines bracket matches up well for them. They’ve had a great season. This offense has been solid all season.
What would be interesting is if they and District 3-4A champion Andrews meet in the regional semifinals. Andrews won 25 games during the regular season.
Then there’s Mineral Wells. No one paid much attention to the Lady Rams. But they took a big jump under head coach Ryan Barnes. They won 14 games in 2025 and have improved by eight wins this spring. Should they get past Wolfforth Frenship Memorial in the opening round, Mineral Wells could play into the regional semifinals.
Finally, there’s Mildred. The Lady Eagles put together another strong season. A series win over Union Grove out of Gladewater puts them on a path to where they could go a few rounds in the Class 2A Division I Region III bracket. If that happens, they could see District 20-2A foe Frankston again. That would be in the regional finals.
Let the race to play in Austin begin.