By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
A promising baseball season that didn’t come close to reaching completion is the story of the 2020 St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds.
Due to the threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Bloodhounds’ season ended in mid-March, as per a TAPPS statewide mandate. SJA played only five games and didn’t even make it to TAPPS district play.
The season came to an abrupt halt before it really got started much to the disappointment of the coach and players, who expected to field one of the program’s most competitive teams featuring seven seniors and strong pitching.
But if sports teaches anything, it’s that things don’t always go the way one would like.
“I felt we had been waiting four years for this (2020) team,” said senior Carlos Sarmiento, a four-year starter for the Bloodhounds, mostly playing catcher. “In my eyes, because of the players we had this season, this was the team that was going to go the farthest in the playoffs.
“So to not have a complete season was disappointing,” added Sarmiento, who also played some basketball and football for the Bloodhounds while concentrating on baseball. “I’m not angry. It’s just something you look forward to and something that brings you a lot of joy. For my teammates and I, it was just something very sad not getting to play.”
Besides Sarmiento at catcher, the rest of the Bloodhounds’ lineup included pitcher-infielder-outfielder Nicolas Jackson, second baseman Luis Emilio Trevino, pitcher-shortstop Senad Dervisevic, pitcher-infielder Rafael Parra, third baseman Rolando Gonzalez, left fielder Daniel Wolfe, designated hitter Victor Gonzalez, first baseman MariaJose Morales and center fielder Daniel Garza.
Players helping off the bench included outfielders Denis Garcia, Jacobo Coronado, Edgardo Garcia and Ruben Martinez.
Since SJA does not have a softball team, Morales, a sophomore, was the squad’s female player who didn’t always start, but played in pretty much every game.
The seven seniors were Sarmiento, Trevino, Dervisevic, Parra, Wolfe, Garza and Victor Gonzalez.
The Bloodhounds had a 12-0 tournament win against Edinburg Quest and played competitive ball in their other four games against bigger schools, SJA coach Steven Najera said. It was an attempt to get the Bloodhounds ready for TAPPS district play, the coach said.
“What was kind of sad and frustrating about this season was we did have a lot of upperclassmen this year,” said Najera, who just completed his fourth season as SJA’s coach. “One of the reasons I was really looking forward to our season was our pitching. Our pitching was going to be one of our strengths. I also felt good because a lot of these seniors have come through our program, so I believed we were going to have a very effective team. We wanted to see how we could have done in district.
“The players wish they could be out there, even just practicing,” added Najera, who was assisted by Esteban Pruneda, Michael Torres and Carlos Arturo Trevino. “We’ve never been known as a powerhouse school for baseball, but one of the things I really liked was these guys genuinely enjoyed being out on the field and being together as a team. I think that attitude carried over to the coaches, too. With so many seniors, we were all looking forward to having a complete season, and to have that taken away was kind of bittersweet.
“I really think our returning players will be even more motivated for next season. We didn’t have a whole lot of juniors and sophomores, but we had a lot of freshmen who came out for the team. So next year we’ll probably have a young team. The underclassmen who came out this year were very excited to be on the team. They’re looking forward to coming back and getting back to business. The one good thing we’re taking away from this situation is we do have a lot of young players coming back.”
For the seniors who are now anticipating graduation, it’s a matter of moving on and taking with them some valued memories of playing baseball for the Bloodhounds.
“Every school year I’ve always looked forward to the second semester because the baseball season was just the best,” said Sarmiento, who plans to attend the McCombs School of Business next school year at the University of Texas-Austin. “I’ve loved every game, and I’ve loved going to practice. That was my environment and like my second home. It was all about enjoying a sport, being comfortable doing it and also being competitive.
“Over my four years at St. Joe I’ve met a lot of people, and some from a different generation (of students),” he added. “I feel a lot of that was because of baseball. When I first started out on the team as a freshman, I met a lot of juniors and seniors who I still talk to today. I’m going to keep talking to them after I go off to college. I feel that I’ve made some very good connections over my four years at St. Joe, and I think about the good times we’ve had as a team. It’s been great.”