Lady Chargers’ Sandoval headed to Texas A&M International
By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial softball player Sarah Sandoval has loved the game from an early age, but never thought she’d be here years later.
“As a kid, I never expected something like this to happen,” she said as she recalled her early days playing softball. “The first time I hit the ball, it felt awesome. It was the first sport I ever played.”
Now a senior, Sandoval decided that she would miss the game too much without it in her life, so she’ll continue her softball career at Texas A&M International University, an NCAA Division II school in Laredo after making it official during a signing ceremony Wednesday.
“This is our first softball player to sign (to play in college), so it’s a great thing,” Brownsville Veterans coach Ray Cardenas said. “For myself, it’s always great to promote our program. For Sarah, it’s a wonderful thing to go to college, she gets to have it paid for and she gets to do what she loves.”
Sandoval is a third baseman and pitches for a Lady Chargers team that currently sits second in District 32-6A and is headed to the postseason. She was also a standout on the Lady Chargers’ volleyball team and had the opportunity to be a two-sport athlete for Texas A&M International, too. She ultimately declined because her field of study would be too intense to play both sports.
Sandoval, who plans to pursue kinesiology and specialize in athletic training, received an athletic scholarship to compete for the Dustdevils that will cover the majority of her tuition.
She loved the campus after her visit and knew Laredo was the place for her.
“It was close to home, but it’s underrated,” Sandoval said. “I thought it was beautiful, why wouldn’t anyone want to come here?”
Sandoval has already decided one of her goals at Texas A&M International: To get the team back to the NCAA tournament. The Dustdevils last trip was five years ago and she wants to help change that.
“I decided to work hard when I get there,” Sandoval said. “See what I can do, what I can contribute to the team to help us get there.”
Cardenas hopes that this is the first of many signings for his softball players.
“It gives us the promotion that we want to show the city and the Valley that we play good softball here, have good fundamentals here, we have great athletes,” he said. “We want the future girls of Brownsville to know that there are opportunities to excel at sports.”
The Lady Chargers coach said Sandoval is a great example for his younger players.
“The girls wanted to be like her, they recognize her dedication every day, she set the example for the younger girls,” Cardenas said. “They can see if they work like her, if they’re willing to put in the hours like Sarah did, they can achieve the same greatness that she did.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.