By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
First-year Hanna baseball coach Orlando Crenshaw knew exactly how much of a challenge he was up for when he was hired to replace Jameson Wicks.
The Eagles bottomed out in 2019 after nearly two decades as a strong postseason contender, going 5-26 overall and 0-15 in District 32-6A.
And so in stepped Crenshaw, who had previously worked under former Harlingen High coach Bryan Aughney with the JV light program. He also spent time working with the Lady Cardinals’ softball program and the Harlingen High football team, and serves in a similar capacity under coach Mark Guess and the Hanna football team.
“I wanted to take what happened last year, as far as what the mindframe was with current players and coaching staff,” Crenshaw said, “and try to build something from there. I tried to build a foundation from the ground up of teamwork, commitment and leadership.”
With six returning starters and seven seniors on Hanna’s 2020 roster, the Eagles appeared to have the potential to restore the standard of success that had been synonymous with the program.
“We wanted to get this program on track to what it used to be,” Crenshaw said. “That’s the mindset I came into the organization with.”
But one thing no one around the program foresaw was the effect the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic would have on the momentum the Eagles had generated during their first season under new management on the diamond.
“Because of the way it all came down, it forced us as coaches to say, ‘If our kids are going to have a short season, how can we maximize the rest of this time?” Crenshaw said. “That’s where we were stuck initially when everything came down right before Spring Break.”
Senior third baseman/pitcher/outfielder Derek Alvarado, senior pitcher/first baseman Marco Martinez, sophomore shortstop Anthony Ambriz, junior third baseman/pitcher Ryan Trinidad, senior pitcher/outfielder Mark Alonzo and senior pitcher/first baseman Aaron Moran made up the core of the team.
Despite the shortened season, the Eagles made their mark on the Texas High School Baseball website’s annual top 100 University Interscholastic League Class 6A statistical leaderboards.
Ambriz was 61st with 14 runs scored and 29th in stolen bases with 10. Martinez finished 17th among 6A pitchers with 28 strikeouts, and Alonzo finished 92nd with 19 punchouts.
Crenshaw said Alvarado, Martinez and Alonzo helped “right the ship” to ensure the entire team was on the same page.
“Alonzo was really instrumental in helping build a (sense of) team camaraderie with the group that we had,” Crenshaw said. “They went through so much through the last couple of years that they needed to start from the group up and have a sense of ownership of the team.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information provided to The Brownsville Herald.