By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Baseball season is still a few months away, but two more players have decided where to continue their baseball careers next season.
A pair of Hanna players, seniors Noe Guerrero and Cristian Gonzalez, signed to play baseball at the NCAA Division I level during a signing ceremony Tuesday at Hanna High School.
Guerrero has committed to Texas Southern University in Houston, joining Lopez’s Alex Olguin, who signed with the school two weeks ago and Gonzalez will play for the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
“It’s awesome,” former Hanna head baseball coach Eddie Garcia, who recently stepped down to be an assistant on the Hanna softball team that his daughter will be competing for, said. “They are both pretty smart too, I’m sure they are going to succeed academically and athletically. I have total confidence in them, they are both talented and can play at that level … I have no doubt.”
The pair helped the Golden Eagles to a runner-up finish in District 32-6A to Los Fresnos and the two teams will certainly battle again for the top of the standings this season. A year ago, Hanna advanced to the area round of the postseason, where it lost to Edinburg Vela in a three-game series.
Last season, Guerrero was the team’s top pitcher with a 6-2 record and a microscopic 1.14 ERA in 61 1/3 innings, he allowed 21 runs — only 10 earned — on 50 hits, walked 18 and struck out 57 and opponents hit just .209 against him. Guerrero earned the distinction as the top pitcher in the district and was the named The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Baseball Pitcher of the Year.
“It’s amazing … I never thought I would make the DI level when I was little,” Guerrero said. “After all the hard work, I realized I could do something. Last year after earning the pitcher of the year award … after playing on travel teams … I got noticed.”
Guerrero played for Banditos Baseball Club and got noticed during a summer showcase. A week later, he got an email about coming to Houston for a visit. After the right-handed hurler made his visit, he was offered a full scholarship and committed soon after.
He plans on studying biology and working in the medical field some day. Guerrero wants to see how far baseball can take him and he hopes to get drafted some day. But he’s excited to start the journey with a familiar face.
“It’s awesome because over there I don’t know anyone, but with him there it will be easier to go workout, to throw,” Guerrero said of Olguin, who he plans to room with during their freshman year.
Gonzalez, a first baseman, hit .271 last year with 19 hits, including six doubles and a triple, scored 13 runs and was second on the team with 16 RBIs. He drew 14 walks and struck out just nine times. Gonzalez had a .409 on-base percentage and slugged .385 for an OPS of .795. Gonzalez was just as good with his glove, he had a .967 fielding percentage with just five errors in 150 chances.
“It’s a relief to get it off my shoulders,” he said of his signing his letter of intent. “I’m looking forward to continuing my journey into college and hopefully be successful. I didn’t want to worry about it so I could enjoy my last year.”
Gonzalez played in the summer with the South Texas Sliders and a scout noticed him and got in contact with him to let him know the interest the school had in him. It was an easy choice to commit to Incarnate Word because his brother plays for the football team.
“It was always a college I wanted to attend, I always had that college in the back of my mind,” he said. “They have a new coaching staff and are rebuilding the program and I wanted to be a part of that.
“It was just a perfect fit for me.”
Gonzalez wants to go into medicine and Incarnate Word has a medical school as well, so it was a good fit both academically and athletically.
Garcia coached both players during the last three years and knows that each has the work ethic to be successful.
“I’m so proud of them,” he said. “It makes it all worth it … all the sweat and tears, the painful practices, it all pays off. I’m hoping that these young guys see that and it rubs off on them that it’s possible (to play in college).
“It’s a blessing for me as a coach.”
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.