In
many aspects of life, the support of family members is crucial to
obtaining happiness and success. That could be a determining factor
in the continued success of EPCC shortstop, Hector Bernal.
The 19-year-old sophomore came into the 2006 season hoping to improve
on his solid freshman year. So far, Bernal has not only improved on
last year, he's quickly established himself as the team's best player.
At
.420, Bernal is batting 68 points higher than any of his teammates.
He leads the team in hits (29), doubles (4), runs scored (16), total
bases (35), stolen bases (10) and is tied for third in RBI with 11.
Though Bernal has gotten out of the gate quickly, the Tejanos, as
a team, have struggled offensively with a .270 batting average which
has resulted in an 8-9-1 season record.
"We've started slowly and we could be doing a lot better,"
Bernal said. "We are finding a lot of things that we need to
work on, but we are improving on them even though our record doesn't
show it."
Tejanos
shortstop Hector Bernal, who leads the team in almost every offensive
category, said his father was instrumental in starting his baseball
career.
Photo by Erika Hernandez
Bernal,
who grew up in El Paso and graduated from Hanks High School, always
loved the game of baseball. He started playing at the age of eight,
influenced mostly by his father.
"He taught me all the fundamentals and has given me the little
secrets that have helped put me where I am today," said Bernal.
"My family has been so supportive of me. They even go to some
of our away games. Without them I wouldn't be here."
Bernal is confident the team will start putting things together. "The
team has a good relationship," he said. "We are a lot alike
and we have fun together. I know we'll start getting the job done."
This season the Tejanos will be playing most of their games out of
town. "It affects us in school, but we enjoy the traveling,"
Bernal said. "I would like to see more home games so that we
could play in front of a friendly crowd."
Today, Bernal is one of the team's best players, but that wasn't the
case when he was younger. "I was the bench warmer when I was
real young. I didn't get to play a lot, but I started to get better
when I went to high school," Bernal said.
Though he is studying business, Bernal is confident about reaching
his ultimate goal. "I see myself playing professional baseball.
I know that I will play in the major leagues, I just don't know when
it will come," said Bernal.
Bernal's favorite team is the New York Yankees. One day he would like
to play with them, but said, "Any team will be great to play
for… but I would like to play for the Yankees."
No matter what team he may ultimately play for, Bernal will never
lose sight of who is responsible for his success.
"My dad is my biggest support, but he is also my biggest critic,"
said Bernal. "He has helped me be the person I am. Most of my
success is because of him."
