Ryan Guerra was 6 years old when he attended his first Major League Baseball game with his family — a day game at Globe Life Park in Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers.
From the player introductions to the singing of the National Anthem, Guerra was enthralled by the atmosphere, but what he remembers most was a sound — the echo created by big league bats connecting with baseballs.
Fast forward a little more than a decade and Guerra, a senior infielder, has developed into one of the top baseball players in South Texas, where he’s a three-year letterman at Zapata High School with multiple district titles to his name.
“It was at that moment when I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. My parents were quick to tell me that to make it at the professional level was extremely difficult, but they would support my dream on one condition — that I focus on committing to attend college to pursue a degree before anything else,” Guerra said. “It was then when I pursued this dream of playing college baseball. Since the age of 6, I’ve been traveling around the country playing travel baseball at a very competitive level, and I’ve been practicing to get better every single day in some way, shape or form.”
Just like he quickly fell in love with baseball as a 6-year-old watching the Texas Rangers for the first time, Guerra knew immediately Incarnate Word, a Division I school in theSouthland Conference, is where he wanted to continue his baseball and academic career. Guerra earlier this month signed a national letter of intent in front of his family, friends, teammates and coaches, all of whom helped mold the senior slugger into the baseball player and person he is.
He thanked his family for supporting him through 8 a.m. weekend games, games under the scorching summer sun, and for helping him completehomework under the dim interior lights inside his family’s vehicle while traveling thousands of miles on the road to compete in tournaments.
“I felt a sense of pride and accomplishments that all my hard work and dedication had finally paid off. Ever since I walked into Incarnate Word, I knew that was the place for me so making it official was a special moment. But I know that there is still lots of hard work ahead to be able to compete at the collegiate level,” he said.
During his senior year, Guerra was batting .367 at the plate with eight RBIs, four doubles and 12 walks in 12 games. But like sports across the world, play has been paused due to the novel coronavirus (COVID19). While put in a tough situation with a senior year stuck in limbo, Guerra has been spending time with his family while still finding ways to improve at baseball.
“I’ve gone through many emotions, but the one thing that I cannot get over is that I will not be able to play my senior year with my fellow teammates. The majority of us have played together since we were in little league, and now we won’t be able to play together our last year,” he said. “I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and God has a reason for this. Even with all this going on, it will not stop me from practicing and getting stronger and faster. I will spend these next few weeks with my family and enjoy this time with them.”