This weekend, a group of athletes will head to Texas to play baseball. And the San Francisco Bay Area will be well-represented at MLB Grit, a girls-only baseball tournament sponsored by Major League Baseball.

“I grew up in a Giants cap,” said Justice Alcantar, 18, who has just started her fourth and final season on the University High baseball team. “I’ve played baseball my whole life.”

The high school girls who are headed to Arlington, Texas, opted to play Little League and Pony League growing up. Many have played for their high schools. Like Justice is now, they’ve often been the only girl on their teams. Baseball is the game they prefer.

They’ve also spent a lifetime having to push back against insistence that they must play softball. That girls don’t play hardball. That they won’t earn a college scholarship this way.

“I’ve heard a lot of, ‘Baseball is for boys, you should play softball,’” said Leiyah Tate-Roger, a senior at Ruth Asawa School for the Arts. “I can decide that for myself. I’ve never played softball.”

Annie Jupiter-Jones, the girls’ baseball director for San Francisco Youth Baseball, which partners with San Francisco Park and Rec, has three baseball-playing daughters, including Justice, her oldest. According to Jupiter-Jones, San Francisco is the only city with a publicly funded girls baseball program.

She’s also the manager of the Bay Sox, a girls travel team, founded in 2015. The Bay Sox have played in the Baseball for All tournament, as well as MLB’s Trailblazers Series.

“These girls like to play baseball,” Jupiter-Jones said. “This generation of kids has grown up in a baseball city.”

Audrey Byrne can attest to that. She’s a catcher, and Buster Posey is her idol. Though the San Francisco resident doesn’t play baseball at Marin Academy — she’s focused on soccer — she’s also going to Texas this weekend. She plays organized baseball when she can.

“Anytime I get a chance,” she said. “It’s such a cool experience.”

The Giants winning multiple World Series kept Tate-Roger committed to playing even though the response by others can “be harsh,” especially when she strikes out an opponent.

For many of the girls, tournaments like this weekend are a rare opportunity for them to play without the daily grind of being the only girl on a team.

“Sometimes they need a touchstone,” Jupiter-Jones said. “Just their representation is powerful.”

Tate-Roger likes seeing so many girls. She’d also like to see more players of color, noting she’s often the only African American player — of either gender — on the field.

This weekend will feature inspirational speakers, such as Kim Ng, MLB’s senior vice president for baseball operations, and others who work in the game. They want to show these young women that though playing long-term might be an unlikely goal, there are other ways to find a career in baseball.

Baseball has been trying to engage a younger audience. To find ways to stay relevant. This is one way to do it.

Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: akillion@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annkillion