There’s nothing more quintessential to being a kid than playing Little League baseball, but on July Fourth, 2025, along with so much more, the Little League fields of Hill Country were destroyed, along with the innocence of thousands of kids who live here.  

With so much else to rebuild, a baseball season in 2026 seemed like more than a dream.  

But just like every other challenge, this community, with a little help from some major league friends, came together and did what some thought was impossible. They made sure that baseball was back, right on time for opening day this March.  

Fresh cut grass, chalk on dirt, and the familiar sound of strikes being thrown.

It’s baseball season in Texas, opening day in fact.

“I could not go to sleep, I was just so excited. I got up early, took a shower, did my hair,” said Lilly Wirth, a softball player. 

And with opening day comes fanfare

But nothing about this march day was promised. Just eight months prior, this beautiful ballpark simply was washed away.  

“We had our last game July 2, and we closed up shop and were like, ‘We’ll come back kind of clean up maybe this weekend,’ kind of go through stuff, and we all know that did not happen,” said Amy Barnes, a mom and the concession stand manager.

 Like almost everything else, the July Fourth flooding completely destroyed the Little League fields in Hunt.  

Barnes and Caroline Key are both moms in the Little League; Key coaches her kids’ teams. They thought they had lost their season, along with so much more.

“July 5, when we walked around, we were… stuck, we were devastated and sad and pretty bummed,” said Barnes.

“My daughter is a student at the Hunt school, and we lost two students from our community. In addition, we lost some of our friends too,” said Key.

“When we woke up in the morning, everything was wrecked. We had a pretty good view of where it happened… It was wrecked,” said Annie Key, Caroline Key’s daughter and a softball player.

When asked how she felt after the floods, Annie Key said she was sad, “Cuz I lost some friends,” she said. 

“I had three sets of little eyes looking up, saying, ‘Where are we going to play next year?’ And we said we would figure it out,” said Barnes. 

Not playing ball was simply not an option. 

And that meant getting a little help from some major league friends.

“We came over to see what we could do to help and it became immediately evident that the fields were wiped out. Looking up over the hill there was really nothing left here. So, right then, I decided whatever we got to do to figure this out and get it done,” said Jim Crane, the owner of the Houston Astros.

The Astros joined forces with the Texas Rangers, Communities Foundation of Texas and others to pitch in nearly $3 million to rebuild the fields so these kids didn’t miss a single pitch.

“This joy you feel today has been this pent-up joy this community has had for so long,” said Austin Dickson, the CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. 

That joy was bursting at the seams; the kids couldn’t wait for the ceremonial ribbons to be cut. They just wanted to play.

“Cut the ribbon, cut the ribbon, cut the ribbon,” the kids screamed.

“Because of the people of what we had during the flood, I knew, I didn’t expect this, but I knew something would happen,” said Barnes.

And with every pitch thrown and ball hit, these kids are getting something back that was ripped away from them.

“If we can get a hot dog to a little kid, I mean, what else do you need besides baseball and hot dogs, right?” said Barnes. 

A chance to just be kids and play a little ball.

Two sisters and a friend were charged with murder after a 32-year-old Texas mother of five was stabbed multiple times in broad daylight and later died, authorities said.

Kitty Mia Diaz, 21; Amaya Cookie Diaz, 19; and Kyandra Renee Faz, 21, were arrested Thursday on charges of murder in connection with the fatal attack, the Del Rio Police Department wrote in a press release posted to Facebook.

The victim was identified as Caroline “Caro” Peña, 32, according to local media reports.

“She was one of those people that she was born to be a mom,” Peña’s childhood friend, Zelina Ochoa, told KENS 5, fighting back and wiping off tears. “She really loved being a mom.”

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Del Rio is a city of 35,000 in southwest Texas near the Mexican border.

Police said officers responded around 2:10 p.m. Thursday to Val Verde Regional Medical Center after receiving a report that a woman had arrived with multiple stab wounds from an assault at a busy intersection.

“This wasn’t something that happened in a back alley; this happened at the corner near Sonic on one of our busiest roads in broad daylight,” Ochoa told KENS 5.

Because of the severity of her injuries, the woman was taken to a San Antonio medical facility for emergency treatment, police said. Investigators were notified around 9 p.m. that she had died after being stabbed twice in the back and a third time in her stomach.

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Detectives reviewed surveillance video, processed evidence and interviewed witnesses before identifying Kitty Diaz, Cookie Diaz and Faz as suspects, police said. Kitty Diaz and Cookie Diaz were arrested without incident around 4 p.m. local time Thursday, and Faz was arrested a short time later.

Another friend, Christina Salinas, told the outlet she missed a call from Peña shortly before the stabbing and later recognized her in a photo suffering from the wounds circulating on a community page.

“I feel like if I would have answered that call, honestly I would have been there with her,” Salinas said. “It wouldn’t have gotten like that.”

Police have not publicly released a motive.

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Salinas said she rushed to the hospital and was able to say goodbye before Peña was flown to San Antonio.

“That girl, she was a fighter: She was still standing her ground,” Salinas said.

All three suspects were booked at the Del Rio Police Department before being transported to the GEO Correctional Facility, where police said they remained pending court hearings.

The investigation remains active, and police said additional charges could be filed as detectives continue gathering evidence.

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Peña is survived by her five children – the oldest a 17-year-old son – and a twin sister, according to reports.

“If you needed something and she had it, even if it was her last, she’d give it to you,” Ochoa told KENS 5.

Across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, World Cup excitement is spilling far beyond the stadium. Klyde Warren Park and Sundance Square are both packed with fans, and Texas Live is buzzing with FIFA fever as crowds gather to cheer, celebrate, and soak in the match‑day atmosphere, including plenty of Argentina supporters.