By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
Back on March 10, the Lopez Lobos were riding high after a momentous 3-2 win at Edcouch-Elsa.
Coach Victor H. Martinez’s squad capped off a thrilling victory with a diving catch in foul territory near the home dugout by senior third baseman Jose “Meme” Cruz, the first and only District 32-5A game Lopez played this season.
When Martinez and the team decamped after the final practice of the 2020 season March 13, the day the University Interscholastic League first suspended athletics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, few anticipated that the coronavirus’ spread would hasten so quickly that it meant it would be the last time this group of Lobos would gather together as a team.
Martinez wanted to commemorate the achievements of his seven seniors, four of which were starters and four-year varsity lettermen, so he obtained the approval of the Lopez administration to distribute yard signs Tuesday morning with photos of each of the members of the Class of 2020 to their homes.
“We’re one of those programs where we believe a lot in relationships,” Martinez said. “(Our coaching staff) has worked together since we were younger. … We have a lot of tradition. We wanted to make sure we were there to say goodbye and to give (the seniors) congratulations before their graduation ceremony, because we might not be able to go (if the commencement is limited to family members).”
He and assistant coaches Rafael Gonzalez, Ismael Trevino, Jerry Garcia are all Lopez alumni who played for the Lobos baseball administration. Martinez has been involved with the coaching staff for nearly two decades, ever since he graduated and became a volunteer assistant under Beto Leal, the current athletic coordinator and football coach at Rivera.
“It’s sad that it’s over,” outfielder Jesus Moya said by phone from his family’s home in Matamoros. “But I want us to stick together and to be united. … I was expecting big things this season because we had all worked hard.”
Moya has been working in the food service industry to help support his family, and said he and his family have been safe and healthy throughout their period of quarantine.
The first destination for the Lopez coaches was the home of shortstop Jesus “Chuy” De Leon, The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year.
“It was a big surprise for them all to show up at the same time,” De Leon said of the coaches’ visit.
The Lobos’ leading hitter was eager to hop in his car and followed his coaches in the procession to his teammates’ homes, where he waved at them from the driver’s seat.
De Leon was disappointed that his team’s strong, experienced core didn’t have a chance to play out a district season and make a playoff run. But he remained consistent to the very end, going 4-for-4 in the team’s final game.
“My team always had my back,” De Leon said. “I just came through for them, and it felt good.”
Robert Guerra, De Leon’s cousin and infield counterpart at second base, overcame an ACL injury suffered during football season. He adhered to a strict rehabilitation routine over four and a half months and — after gaining approval from his parents and a doctor — came back at what he described as “75 percent.”
Martinez carefully managed Guerra’s playing time and knew it would be important to save him for the stretch run. But the UIL’s decision to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 athletic year made it seem that all of the effort Guerra put toward getting closer to full strength was for naught.
“I was worried (about my health) but I had to be there for the team,” Guerra said. “It didn’t really sink in until a month later that I wasn’t going to play anymore.”
When asked what they will remember from their final season, several Lopez players cited the win over the Yellowjackets, a tournament win over Mission Veterans Memorial, and a hard-fought 3-2 defeat in the Los Fresnos-Port Isabel tournament to Sharyland High, one of the top teams in the state in Class 5A in 2019.
Isaac Perez, a senior outfielder who is in the top 10 percent of his graduating class, has tried to make the most of the lessons he has learned in relative isolation and expressed gratitude for the program’s ability to keep the team together in spirit.
“It means a lot (to be recognized by the coaches),” Perez said. “But for it to end like this, it’s hard. Life happens, you just have to move on, and you have to learn to deal with adversity at times. … For (the coaches) to care, for them to do the little things, that’s what Lobo baseball is all about.”