SAN ANTONIO — Who was named Heartland Conference Hitter of the Week, hit two home runs in the 2013 opener, and will be one of the few Rattler softball players to graduate as a biology major?
That would be senior catcher
Christina Rodriguez. She's proven to be one of a kind at St. Mary's.
Although she has spent four years at St. Mary's, Rodriguez was technically only a Rattler for three of them. During her freshman year, Rodriguez, a San Antonio native, learned she was a candidate for early acceptance into medical school. She interviewed and thought it was a done deal — until she was notified that softball was not on the path to medical school.
“I found out that I didn't get accepted and I didn't understand why,” said Rodriguez, whose Rattlers (7-4) will travel to San Angelo, Texas to play in the Angelo State Round Robin, which gets underway Friday. “Then I found out that they don't really want you to play sports as a medical student. They were pretty much saying, 'If you're serious about medical school, you need to focus on that and not play softball.'”
This news led Rodriguez to a difficult decision. She had to choose between her dream of being a doctor and the opportunity to play the sport she loves. After a long struggle, Rodriguez chose to make a sacrifice and quit the team in order to pursue medical school.
“I took that semester off and that was really hard because that's when we're actually in season,” Rodriguez said. “That semester I took 34 hours; 18 here at St. Mary's and 16 at SAC (San Antonio College) to get my EMT (emergency medical technician) certification. I did research on top of that. Once I was able to get all of that done, I thought, 'What am I going to do with all my time?'”
Rodriguez realized in her time away from the sport that she was given a gift from God — the ability and opportunity to play at the collegiate level.
Despite the time commitment and heavy work load of being a biology major, Rodriguez determined playing softball was worth the extra effort.
“Not everyone has an opportunity to play sports in college,” Rodriguez said. “It's a lot of work but it's so much fun. I know everyone talks about all their injuries, how much class they have to miss, how they can't go out and how much work it is. But it's worth it.”
Returning after a semester and a summer away from softball proved to be quite difficult for Rodriguez. Her freshman year she batted close to .375, an average that dipped to .294 after returning to the field. But Rodriguez put the work in and her time away from the sport sparked motivation, leading her to be an extremely valuable asset for the Rattlers. She's back to batting .300 this season, with a team-high nine RBIs to go along with a team-leading two home runs.
“You never know when your last game is going to be,” Rodriguez said. “When I stopped playing, I said, 'I don't even know what I did at my last at-bat.' So any game could be my last; that's the mindset that I have going into things this year.”
Through this journey, Rodriguez has had a tremendous combination of supportive teammates and coaches in place that understand her commitment to her work in the classroom.
“Whenever I showed up to morning workouts like a zombie, my teammates weren't telling me that I needed to go to sleep early because they understood that everyone has different priorities. Everyone has a commitment,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez spent about 60 percent of her time studying and let softball occupy the other 40 percent. Sleep? It barely factored in, she said. But the difficulty of being a biology major didn't stop her from being a successful student-athlete.
“It's not hard when you have your mind set to do something,” Rodriguez said. “I studied because I wanted to do it. Once you have that passion, (nothing else) matters.”
After graduation, Rodriguez plans to live with her sister wherever she is stationed in the Air Force. Although she wasn't accepted into medical school, she plans on reapplying within two years to become a reconstructive surgeon in the military. Until then, Rodriguez has plenty that she would like to achieve, including getting her master's degree, joining the Peace Corps, getting a teaching position in an underprivileged community and paying off her debt.
Through the years, Rodriguez has proven to be a great addition for many reasons to the St. Mary's roster. It's safe to say the Rattlers are glad she decided to stay.
St. Mary's University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men's basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men's golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men's golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary's also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary's student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.rattlerathletics.com.
