By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Former St. Joseph Academy assistant and now coach Gus Henggler didn’t know much about a freshman named Arturo Trevino.
But the first-year varsity player certainly has made an impression on his coach already.
“I had people tell me he was a pretty decent player (before the season),” Henggler said. “He’s a utility guy that I can use anywhere, so he’s a real big key to the team. Whether I need him to start a game to pitch, if I need him to catch or play shortstop, he’s the guy.”
Henggler needed a catcher early on as his senior starter was finishing the soccer season. Trevino stepped in and gave the coach what he needed, and he has started every game somewhere on the field.
“It was so natural, and he has a quick release,” Henggler said of Trevino behind the plate. “I threw him into the fire.”
Trevino went from unknown to all-around. The freshman plays third base, shortstop, catcher and pitcher for the Bloodhounds. That versatility has helped Henggler juggle his starting lineup a little easier.
It doesn’t matter to him where he’s placed on the field, he said.
“Wherever they put me,” Trevino said.
Trevino grew up in Matamoros and started playing baseball at 4 years old. He continued to play the game there until he was about 12, when he finished Little League. He came to Brownsville around the age of 13 and helped guide a squad to a third-place finish in the Pony World Series in California.
That experience has helped mature him beyond his years, and he plays with a calmness most freshman do not possess. Although it hasn’t translated to the team’s win column as much, Trevino is becoming someone on which his teammates can rely.
“I’ve tried my best and did all I could to help the team,” he said.
Besides playing all over the field for the Bloodhounds, Trevino has emerged as the team’s top hitter, batting at more than .350 on the year.
“He knows how to take pitches, how to read the pitcher,” Henggler said. “He adjusts pitch to pitch.”
Baseball is the only sport that Trevino plays, so to say he’s dedicated is an understatement. The freshman has a hitting coach in Matamoros that he visits weekly, and he hits 100-200 balls in the cage.
While Trevino hasn’t emerged as a leader just yet, he feels that’s his duty.
“I need to be one of the main guys to support our team,” he said. “To help them and lift them up.”
Henggler sees the potential as well, even if his freshman isn’t very vocal about things.
“He has a good mental approach,” the Bloodhounds coach said. “He tries to pick up the other guys, has a good attitude. He just has a good mindset.”
Henggler sees many good things coming from Trevino during the remainder of the year and next season.
“He’s a great all-around athlete, doesn’t complain, does what I ask,” he said. “It’s good for him to get that experience as a freshman playing every game.
“It’s great having him on the team. He’s our guy this year.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.