From hosting the inaugural MLB Grit Invitational for high school girls playing baseball to assembling an Academy All-Star team that advanced to the Championship Contest of the RBI Southwest Regionals, 2019 was another great year for women and girls in baseball and softball at the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy at Mercy Street Sports Complex, Presented by Toyota.

While National Girls & Women in Sports Day was celebrated on Wednesday, February 5, the Academy is happy to support girls and women in the game every day.

Italia Ortiz has been playing softball since she was 10 years old. For the last two of those years, she’s been coming out to the Academy to hone her craft.

“I believe the Academy has given me opportunities to improve my end game and get extra reps in outside of my high school practice,” Ortiz said. “All the staff who run practices every week help me, and I was given a chance to be introduced to NCSA to help me look for colleges.”

Playing for the Panthers in the Academy’s 2019 fall RBI softball league is one of the moments that stands out the most to the sophomore at Duncanville High School. Her Panthers went 10-0 and took home the championship.

“We all worked hard for the win and it felt like a true family that day,” Ortiz said.

Juan Leonel Garciga, the Texas Rangers Director of Youth Baseball & Youth Academy Programs, has had a front row seat for Ortiz’s development over her time at the Academy.

“Italia is an exciting player who has shown tremendous growth at the plate over the course of the last year,” Garciga said. “Despite playing catcher, she is one of the fastest players on any field she steps on. That speed, combined with her arm strength, allows her to shift to the outfield when needing a break from behind the plate, while still keeping her bat in the lineup.”

While her athletic skills have grown, that’s not the only thing Ortiz enjoys about softball.

“What I love about the game is the competition on the field and intensity I experience. Also, the friendships you create throughout the sport, which is amazing,” she said.

High School Baseball & Softball Underway

LG Pinkston High School softball will host James Madison High School tonight, Friday, February 7, officially kicking off the slate of high school games to be played at the Academy this year. Pinkston had been scheduled to host H. Grady Spruce on Wednesday, February 5, but the game was cancelled due to weather.

For the third straight year, Pinkston High School baseball and softball teams are calling the Academy home. Sunset High School baseball will also play its home games at the Academy, and the Sunset softball squad will join them in playing their 2020 home games at the facility.

Thomas Jefferson High School baseball and softball teams will play their home games at the Academy for the first time in 2020 due to the damage their fields sustained from the tornadoes that hit Dallas in October 2019.

Patriots softball head coach Terry Mercer said his team is looking forward to the opportunity to play at the Academy. They will host Desoto on Monday, February 24 in their first home game of the season.

“They were excited because we were going from a point where we didn’t know where we were going to practice and what that was going to look like, and a point too where we were going to have to play all of our games on the road, which would be difficult,” Mercer said. “It’s always good to have those home games and have your parents, family, and friends come and support you. It’s a huge, huge blessing to us.”

Below is the February softball schedule for DISD high school games to be played at the Academy. Scheduling is subject to change. March and April dates and opponents will be included in future notebooks.

The high school baseball season kicks off at the Academy on Tuesday, February 11, when Pinkston hosts Seagoville.

Below is the February baseball schedule for DISD high school baseball games to be played at the Academy. Scheduling is subject to change. March, April, and May dates and opponents will be included in future notebooks.

Winters Academy Training Program

The Winter Academy Training Program is underway. Programming runs through February 27.

Monday and Wednesday sessions are tailored for 18U baseball and softball players and run from 6:30-9:00 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday sessions, designed for 12U baseball and softball players, are from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Registration is available at texasrangers.com/academy.