BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
Miguel Peña is a Valley kid from Palmview who went to La Joya High School and played baseball.
Last year, while on the diamond in Taiwan, he was spotted by Mexican League scouts and signed on the spot. A year later, he found himself pitching for Mexico in the Caribbean World Series, beating Cuba.
Add to that a baseball career that’s taken him up and down the East Coast, Japan and Hawaii (while living in Florida) and the former all-district Coyotes pitcher has probably piled up enough frequent flier miles and memories to last a lifetime.
The 26-year-old Peña said he simply feels blessed to being playing the game at a high level with a strong shot to get into the Majors. Last season, the lefty was impressive with the Mexican League’s Triple-A Toros de Tijuana, going 9-3 with a 2.43 ERA.
“I am blessed to be with the Toros. Every day you feel like a little kid,” Peña said. “It feels like a dream where you get to play baseball every day, and you don’t want that feeling to go away.”
Peña’s love of baseball helped him take the road less traveled to reach the level he has.
After graduating from La Joya in 2009, he was drafted by chose to attend San Jacinto College, a two-year school in Houston known for baseball. After a year, he was drafted again, and he finally turned pro in 2011, when he was selected by the Boston Red Sox.
He spent the next five years playing with a variety of minor league teams in the Boston farm system that took him all over New England and to Greenville, South Carolina. He finally ended up in Portland, Maine, pitching for the Sea Dogs. His performance was unremarkable, as he went 18-18 over that time.
But that all changed in 2016, when Peña signed with the Mexican League’s Toros de Tijuana. Something clicked, and Peña exploded onto the scene. He was one of league’s top pitchers, and the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder says he feels he’s working toward a roster spot in the Major Leagues.
“It’s so much fun being here (playing in Tijuana, Baja California). The atmosphere is great. The fans are great, and I’m with a great organization,” Peña said. “I’ve always believed in the Lord and believed in myself, and never doubted I could make it. I feel like I’m close. How close (to the Majors)? I don’t know, but with hard work and good timing, I’ve got a very good opportunity to get there.”
Besides playing for Tijuana in the spring and summer, Peña also played for the Mexicali Aguilas this winter. Because the Aguilas won the Pacific League (Mexican winter baseball) championship, they were able to name 15 of Mexico’s 30-player team in the Caribbean World Series.
And because of his success, Peña was named to the Mexican squad. The series included Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Venezuela. Mexico lost to Puerto Rico in the final, but Peña took the mound in the semifinals against Cuba. The game was one he’ll not soon forget.
“It was bigger than any of my dreams,” Peña said. “But in the moment, you don’t think about it. You don’t feel it. I was just in the moment going out there and working and doing my job.”
He did, allowing only two hits and a walk in five innings as Mexico won 1-0.
SFA’s KAUFMANN ENTERS SENIOR YEAR AS TRACK CHAMPION
McAllen Memorial alum Madeline Kaufmann enters her final Stephen F. Austin University outdoor track season as the Southland Conference’s reigning women’s heptathlon champion. The heptathlon consists of seven events — 100-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put, 200-meter run, javelin throw and 800-meter run.
Kaufmann, a senior at the Nacogdoches school, claimed the SLC heptathlon title last year as a junior. She improved over her sophomore season, during which she placed second, to win the title with a personal record 5,272 points. Kaufmann finished first in the shot put and javelin throw and second in the 800. Last season, the mass media major was named to the SLC All-Academic team for keeping her GPA above a 3.0.
At the 2017 SLC Indoor Championships on Feb. 22-23, Kaufmann earned bronze in the pentathlon (five events) for the Lumberjacks. The former Mustangs star placed second in the high jump and the 800. In 2016, she was the runner-up in the indoor pentathlon with 3,556 points.
FORMER LADY COUGAR CORDON SHINES AT SCHREINER SOFTBALL
Samantha Cordon has started every softball game the Schreiner University Mountaineers have played since the junior walked on campus more than two years ago. And the former Edinburg North Lady Cougar has been a major contributor from day one.
During her freshman season (2015) in Kerrville, Cordon started all 41 games and batted .347. As a sophomore in 2016, the former All-Valley and All-District selection improved to .352 at the plate (second best on team) and led her squad in hits (44) and put outs (291).
Through eight games this season, Cordon is batting .292 for fourth best on the Division III Mountaineers, who were 4-4 through last weekend. The psychology major is also doing well in the classroom, being named to the President’s List in Fall 2014 and 2016 and Academic Merit list in Spring 2016.
ALEX CRUZ HITTING STRIDE WITH LONGHORNS TRACK
Former Edinburg High track standout Alex Cruz is improving as she runs for the University of Texas cross country and track teams. The sophomore has already shaved time off her 2016 freshman year performances and heads into the outdoor track season readying for the Big 12 championships.
The former Bobcats’ state finalist in the 1600-meter and 800-meter is running a variety of distance races — the mile, two miles, 3,000 meters and 6,000 meters — for the Longhorns. In her second cross-country season last fall, Cruz won the SFA Lumberjack Preview and finished 41st in the Big 12 Championship despite cutting nearly 30 seconds off her time from 2015.
As a freshman in 2015, the health promotion major won the Texas Invitational cross country meet and competed in the NCAA cross country championships after she finished 34th in the regional NCAA meet and helped the Longhorns take second overall.