MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
Rio Hondo’s baseball squad had a lot of young players leading the way this year. And among those players was sophomore Troy Zepeda.
His efforts on the diamond earned the Bobcats second baseman a spot on the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association’s 4A All-State second team.
He is the seventh Bobcat to be selected to an all-state team in as many years.
“When I heard the news, I just jumped up. It’s a great experience for me (to make the team), especially coming from a small town and a good, young team,” Zepeda said. “I believe that through fate and believing in God, anything is possible.”
As a sophomore, Zepeda led the Bobcats with a .385 batting average and recorded 25 hits with 12 RBIs in 25 games. His batting average also led District 32-4A.
On defense, he had a .933 fielding percentage and finished the year as an all-district honorable mention.
With two more years of high school baseball left, Zepeda hopes to use this selection as motivation for himself and the rest of his team.
“The selection has motivated me to be more of a leader because I want to be a team-type of player. I want to work even harder so that I may help guide my team,” Zepeda said. “From here on out I want to break any possible barriers and give 100 percent for my team.”
It’s those unselfish traits that have made Zepeda an ideal player for head coach Sergio Gonzalez and the young Bobcats.
“Troy is a true baseball player and role model for the rest of the team. He’s an amazing player who gives all he has to his faith and family first and then to his baseball,” Gonzalez said. “When he found out he made the team, his first response was wanting to see how he can improve himself as a player and what he could do to help his teammates one day make an all-state team as well.
“A kid like Troy makes our jobs as coaches easier because he’s a guy we can rely on to be the type of leader who wants to improve and improve those around him.”