After a historic softball season for the Lopez Lady Lobo program, two of their own will now add All-Metro honors to the list of this year’s accomplishments.
Lopez head coach Jesse Martinez was named The Brownsville Herald’s Coach of the Year, while third baseman Alex Castro has received the All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year honor.
Under Martinez, the Lady Lobos went 9-5 in District 32-5A play (17-13 overall) and earned their first postseason berth in school history, where they fell to District 31-5A champion Sharyland Pioneer.
While the honor is something Martinez won’t personally soon forget, he ultimately credits his players and program.
“It means a lot to me because I have a passion for coaching softball,” Martinez said. “There’s a lot of great coaches in Brownsville who deserve something like this, but I’m absolutely humbled and honored to be considered for this. But it’s the girls and the program.
“It’s the synergy of everything we’re doing that includes the motivation, dedication and all the different things that are coming together here — that’s why it’s happened.”
But the Castro said it all starts with Martinez and the expectations he sets.
“He means a lot to us because he’s the one who pushes us and tells us that we need to get to practice on time and we need to be presentable and that’s true,” she said. “We have to come out and show teams we haven’t faced how strong we are. We have to go out there and show off our batting skills and our defense and everything that he taught us.”
Castro, an All-District 32-5A first-team third baseman, has taken that to heart and showed off this season.
In a district loaded with strong defensive play and strong arms, Castro made pitchers bring their best as she posted a .633 batting average and recorded 57 hits with 31 singles, 17 doubles, six triples and four home runs.
She had 40 RBIs, scored 43 runs and struck out just four times.
But Castro won’t take all the credit as she credits the tutelage of assistant coach Rick Lepre and the competitiveness of her teammates and sister Lexi for her successful season.
“Whenever there is a problem, coach Lepre is always there to help us fix it and I’m thankful for that,” Castro said. “And my team has pushed me really hard, especially my sister Lexi. We’re very competitive and I’m surprised I got this award (Offensive Player of the Year) because it was hard. It was based on how hard the team pushed me.”
Martinez says that Castro already has made a name for herself in the two years he’s been at Lopez and it showed in their playoff series with Sharyland Pioneer.
“She got a lot of respect and ended the season with a couple of walks from the Sharyland Pioneer folks,” Martinez said. “They told me not to take it the wrong way because they have a lot of respect for her as a hitter. Overall, she has developed and she is conscious of her strengths and weaknesses.
“She works hard at correcting things and has things she needs to work on, but she’s aware of the concept and is going to get better.”
Castro will enjoy her All-Metro accolade this season, but will continue to work.
“I am excited to get this award, but I want to keep up the work so I can hopefully get this again next year,” she said.