Stroman High School - RoundUp Yearbook (Victoria, TX)

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Scoreboarc SHS Opponcnl SMS Opponent 4 Carroll 3 5 Kingsville 3 11 Moody 3 6 King 2 8 Miller 1 5 Alice 7 15 Ray 2 11 Moodv 10 6 VHS 5 3 Mission 2 7 Kingsville i 9 Mission 1 7 King Laredo 3 16 Alice 6 Nixon 10 Austin 5 6 L.Nixon Wcsllakc 11 L. Nixon 1 9 Carroll 10 5 SA Clark 3 4 Moodv 5 7 SA Lee 6 T Miller 19 6 N.Garland 3 S Rav 3 3 Pasadena 1 1 VHS h Rashuurn Richard Valenzuela receives a high five from his teammates after he scores another run. Manuel Alvarado is declared safe by the umpire during the Victoria High game. The Raiders won 11-6. Ray Luna and David Hawkins warm up before practice. All varsity players exercised before practice. Coach Hodie Garcia was selected as coach of the year by the coaches in District 31-5A. Varsity Baseball 175

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JTTodie ball a swinging success Members of the Raider baseball team took firm control of their destiny from the beginning of the season through the final victory ' in Disch-Falk Field on ilie campus of The University of Texas at Austin on June 7. With a season record of 29-7, the Raiders, under the guidance of Coach Hodie Garcia, wanted to win district, bi-district, area, regional semi-finals, state semi-finals, and, most of all, the state 5-A championship. They did. The kids believe they can win and know they can win, said Coach Garcia, i feel like we can play against anybody. If we get beat by somebody, we want to get beat by the best. When the season officially opened in February, Coach Garcia said that he felt it would be a good season. He said that the team was fundamentally sound. During the regular season, the Raiders were notorious for their ability to steal bases, averaging nearly five steals a game during the regular season. The team had a .300 team average and Edwin Bell boasted a .405 average, in- cluding six doubles, one triple and 22 runs batted in. Other leading hitters were Manuel Rodriguez (.348), Manuel Alvarado (.346), Ross Grones (.329), David Hawkins (.32 1 ), Randy Torrence (.321), and Norris Hill (.315). The game plan, dubbed Hodie Ball, worked. Coach Garcia, known for his aggressive, no-nonsense coaching, ex- pected discipline from his team. He ex- uded confidence in his players ' abilities as well as his own. When the team had to play Moody for the district championship. Coach Gar- cia said, I like the playoff because I want to know if we ' re the best team in district. I know that we ' re the two top teams in the district, but I want to know if Stroman is the best. It was. The team enjoyed playing at River- side Stadium for their fans. We like playing before the home crowd, Coach Garcia said. There ' s nothing like that It ' s so much fun and there ' s not so much pressure, he said. The only thing that stopped the; ' Raiders for a time was the UIL postponement of the 5-A basebali - playoffs following a pair of court ruling; concerning the controversial no-pass no-play rule. However, even the dela didn ' t stop the team. We ' re just going to keep on practic- ' ing, even if there ' s a delay, Coach Gar- cia said. We just want to play. And play, they did, right to the top. From Day One I told them they were the best team I ' ve ever coached, said Coach Garcia. It was a team effort all the way, he said. Coach Garcia was selected as Coach of the Year by the coaches in District 3 1-5 A and Edwin Bell was selected to play on the South All-Star team at the annual Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star game in the Astrodome in Houston. Varsity Baseball: Sitting: Edwin Bell, Billy Tipton, Manuel Rodriguez, Mike Yates, Norns Hill, David Hawkins. Kneeling: Rudy Vasquez, Chris Walker, Randy Torrence, Gary Moore. Ralph Escalona, John Hill. Manuel Alvarado. Standing: Keith Ellis, Jeff Sparkman. Richard Garza, Ray Luna, Gaylen Younublood, Michael Ruiz. Head Coach Hodie Garcia. Back row: Assistant Coach Dave Evans, Richard Valenzuela, Wrennie Wickliffe, Greg Kobza, Ross Grones, Richard Delgado, Rudy Longoria, Donny Moya, Assistant Coach James Robey and Jon Grones 174 Varsity Baseball

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c reme de la creme 176 Varsity Baseball