By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
It was a moment five years in the making for the Lopez baseball program.
After the Lobos last reached the postseason in 2013, they struggled at times and fell short of reaching the playoffs before finally breaking through this year.
Led by head coach Victor Martinez, Lopez was in the mix for the District 32-5A title until late in the season, but finished as the runner up and earned its berth in the postseason.
For his efforts leading the Lobos and ending their playoff drought, Martinez has been named The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Baseball Coach of the Year.
“ I want to thank my coaching staff,” Martinez said. “Those guys are the backbone for this program. They’ve always been there with me, helping out the kids and developing those kids. They went above and beyond. Like any other program, to be a winning program you have to have great coaches around you and my staff did a great job this year.
“ Moving forward, I’m glad I have those guys in my corner because they make things easier for me.”
This season, the Lobos had a mix of seniors, including eventual District 32-5A and All-Metro MVP Alex Olguin, and several youths that came together to get Lopez off to a good start in district play. It started 3-1 and then won six straight. Despite finishing 2-2, the Lobos had already secured their spot in the postseason for the first time in five seasons.
Even though the playoff exit was quicker than it expected, Martinez and Lopez could see the fruits of its labor over the last five years. All the ups and downs paid off as the program got back to its current level.
The program has found success because of Martinez’s development of players like Olguin, seeing his talent and potential and helped groom him into an NCAA Division I baseball prospect that committed to Texas Southern University this past fall.
“ He’s been my mentor since my freshman year,” Olguin said. “All four years, he’s taught me to be humble, but stay hungry. From my freshman year, (he told me) ‘you have to keep working and better things are going to come.’
“ I thank him for that.”
Martinez sees this season as a turning point and hopefully the momentum can continue next year.
“ The future looks bright,” he said. “We can’t wait to see what’s ahead of us. The kids see that we can make things happen, we can be successful. Everyone sees what role they have to take to be successful and I think they’re excited to do their job. I think the kids are up to the challenge.”
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.