Home Sweet Home

South San Antonio High School Student Makes UIW Home

by Wayne Witt

All indicators show Hector Delgadillo has found a home at Incarnate Word. He is a record setter on the baseball diamond. He is through three years of his bachelor's degree and it wont be too much longer before he becomes the first college graduate in his family.

For several reasons, this is a success story.

“I needed a place to virtually pay for my education,” the South San Antonio High School product remembers. “I talked to the coaches here (Danny Heep and Pete Magre) and this seemed to be one of the few places that could do that. And then I got here and I liked it. The classes are small, everyone knows everyone else,” Delgadillo said.

It may be his ideal place because he is successful and it is, as he says, maybe 15 miles from his family's home. But in some ways, those 15 miles turned into a long distance.

“My first year here,” Delgadillo says, “I didn't have a car so I would ride the city bus, actually two busses, every day to get here. I would take from an hour to an hour and a half one way. I would stay on campus all day because I had no way to get back and forth. I remember spending hours in the library and many times I would get home after dark.”

The star righthanded pitcher had the stuff to get through all that however. “I would say my work ethic is pretty good,” Delgadillo says. “It comes from wanting to be successful and to make my parents proud. My parents always have said that if I went to college then maybe my two sisters would follow.” That seems to be the case as his parents predicted since sister Jessica is headed to Texas A&M International on a basketball scholarship in the fall of 2004.

And education always has been a big deal in the Delgadillo household.

“I remember my mother every day in high school asking me about my day in class and if I had any homework.” Delgadillo says. “I always knew I wanted to further my education whether I played baseball or not. If I weren't at Incarnate Word I would probably have been at a community college near my home, but baseball got me this scholarship and here I am.”

His degree will be in physical education and Delgadillo has a goal of being a teacher and a baseball coach. “I am getting certified to teach math. And I wouldn't mind being the baseball coach at South San some day,” Delgadillo states.

Dare he dream about the dynasty that has been the South San Bobcat baseball program all these years--Coach Cliff Gustafson, Coach Robert Zamora (both are members of halls of fame)...Coach Hector Delgadillo? In the meantime, UIW baseball fans know what this young fellow has achieved on the field since the days of riding city busses to campus and the days of his parents pawning household appliances to gather enough money to pay his little league signup fees and buy his uniforms.

Most victories by a pitcher in Incarnate Word baseball history, Hector Delgadillo, 27. Most complete games, Delgadillo, 23. Most innings pitched,

Delgadillo, 293. Most strikeouts, same guy, 240. And he still has a year left. “I remember when I got here
as a freshman I looked at the media guide and wondered if my name would ever be there.”

In each of his three years as the staff ace, the Cardinals have won at least 30 games including this past season when UIW was a school record 40-17 and received a bid to the NCAA Division II regional tournament for the first time. In that tournament played in Mississippi, Delgadillo pitched the first game and went the distance but lost a one-run squeaker to Delta State, the eventual Division II national champion.

All of that considered, this son of South San Antonio knew early what he wanted - an education. And he and his family knew that baseball could be the ticket to that destination. “My dad always told me if I didn't pass in the classroom I couldn't play. He knew that education was the key and that baseball (young Hector was a quarterback on his high school freshman team) could be my motivation,” Delgadillo says.

Next up was the need to finance his college experience and Incarnate Word appeared on the horizon. Baseball was the ticket with many, many crosstown bus tickets thrown in. Incarnate Word has been, and still is, a good fit for Delgadillo to show the way for his sisters.

Season Reports

The year 2003-2004 was one of national prominence
for Incarnate Word athletic teams and individuals. Six
UIW squads advanced to NCAA Division II championship
competitions. At the end of their seasons, three teams
achieved national rankings.

Men's soccer advanced to the Division II championship tournament and was voted the 10th best team in the nation. UIW's synchronized swimming team competed at the national level and finished fifth in the country.

In the spring, Incarnate Word made considerable athletic noise when the baseball team was invited to the regional tournament and finished third while being voted the nation's 19th best team. This team won a school record 40 games along the way.

Also, the women's tennis team, ranked 23rd in the nation, reached the NCAA Central Regional finals. In men's golf, junior Osvaldo Machado received an invitation to play in the South/Central Super Regional Tournament and finished tied for sixth.

With the Division II national championships set for the final week of May, Incarnate Word, for the first time, sent three athletes to the track and field competition in California. They were pole vaulter Francisco Leon, high jumper Jose Caceres and high jumper Maria Ferrand.

In the Heartland Conference during the year, Cardinals teams brought home three championship - men's soccer, women's soccer, women's tennis - while eight other UIW teams reached post-season tournament positions and six of those eight won their way to the semi-finals. Women's basketball and softball both took one more step and advanced to the tournament finals.

For the sixth consecutive year, the UIW athletic department recognized its Student-Athlete of the Year. Those eligible for this award must have achieved junior or senior status, maintain a 3.5 grade average or better in the classroom and be a significant contributor to his or her team. Eighteen qualified as finalists. The 2004 award was presented, for the second consecutive year, to soccer player Ricardo Lara. He was an All-American on the field of play, and he was an Academic All-American with his 3.91 grade average in the field of mathematics.

Also presented at the end of the year were the Incarnate Word Athletes of the Year, male and female. Lara, for the second year, made it a double when he was the top vote-getter. The Female Athlete of the Year went to junior softball pitcher Jennifer Reed, who was all-region and along the way pitched three
no-hitters.

In the Heartland Conference, 34 Incarnate Word student-athletes received recognition as members of the President's Honor Roll for maintaining a cumulative 3.5 grade average or better. Another 39 UIW representatives were on the Heartland Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll with their grade averages of 3.0 to 3.49.

As Scholar All-Americans, Lara was joined this year by six members of the synchronized swimming team - Danielle Kramer, Jennifer Holmquist, Laura Davis, Rachael Simon, Zoe Villarreal, and Rebecca Williams. At the regional level for academics, Lara was joined by fellow soccer player Lubomir Bogdanov and volleyball player Lori Rektorik.