By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Chris Rodriguez hit a home run by signing a college athletic scholarship on Thursday at Pace.
The 2018 Pace graduate signed to play baseball next school year at Texas College, an NAIA school in Tyler.
Playing for his father, Roy Rodriguez, the head baseball coach at Pace, Chris Rodriguez was a three-year letterman as an outfielder/pitcher. He earned first-team District 32-5A honors and was on the All-Metro second team after he helped the Vikings reach the state playoffs this past season out for the first time since 2011.
He’ll play outfielder at Texas College and pursue a degree in criminal justice.
“This is a day I’ve been looking forward to since the summer before my freshman year at Pace,” said Chris Rodriguez, who grew up playing baseball in West Brownsville Little League. “I’ve worked hard these past four years, and fortunately, I get to play at the next level. I’ve had faith, I’ve come through adversity and I’ve stayed (focused) on the game.
“I’ve also run cross country here at Pace in the fall and it’s possible I might be running cross country at Texas College,” he added. “I’m blessed to have been coached by so many great coaches.”
The main one of those coaches is, of course, his father, Roy Rodriguez, a former pitching standout who graduated from Porter in 1988. After Porter, he played at Texas Southmost College. Roy Rodriguez just completed his third year as the skipper at Pace and has 25 years of experience overall as a baseball coach.
“This (signing) has been a long-term goal for four years, so it’s a blessing,” Roy Rodriguez said. “When Chris was a freshman and he told me he wanted to play in college, I told him he would have to work hard to become good enough to play at the next level. Chris has earned this honor (of getting a college scholarship). It’s a great day for our family.
“Chris is a hard-working student-athlete,” the Pace coach added. “He’s very coachable and self-driven. This will be a new starting point for him and he’s going to do just fine.
“He brings a lot of leadership skills to the table and he brings a lot of ‘want-to’ (desire to play well). There’s no doubt that what he’s learned here with us at Pace he’ll take over there to Texas College. If you’re a student-athlete or simply a student, if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”
Chris Rodriguez said it was satisfying to see Pace get back into the playoffs this past season and added he will always have good memories of playing for the Vikings, especially making the road trips.
“Playing with my teammates, who are my brothers, was great,” he said. “Traveling to an away game or to a tournament out of the city was a lot of fun. Those road trips are something I’m never going to forget.
“We had a wonderful season with a spot in the playoffs,” he added. “I think what really helped us was the team chemistry. The guys really came together as a team and as brothers. We were fortunate to be one of the teams in the playoffs. We broke down that door (to the postseason) and we made a mark for this program. We cherish those memories.”
The new Pace graduate is eager for the next step.
“I’m looking forward to the experience of being a Steer at Texas College and playing for Coach (Anthony) Macon,” Chris Rodriguez said. “I’m going to be competing for a spot in the outfield and I hope everything goes well.”
The player’s father said Thursday was a day that will help his program down the road.
“Chris has been blessed and (by signing to play in college) he’s going to open doors for our program here at Pace,” Roy Rodriguez said. “He’s opening doors for other athletes at our school.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess