Story & photos by Herman Delgado
Montwood High School Senior Azul Muñoz took the mound for the last time on April 25, 2019, in a bi-district win over Odessa Permian, it would be the last time she would pitch for her Montwood Rams Softball Team. Her final game in her beloved green and royal blue uniform came on May 4th as the Rams suffered a 5-4 loss in the area playoffs against Trinity High School (Ft. Worth, TX), in Big Springs, Texas. The season came to an end for Montwood High School as they finished the season at 29-8-1, a season in which they captured a district and bi-district championship. “Playing with my teammates, the local support from my family,” Muñoz said. “And the passion I have for my team is what I’m going to miss the most,” Muñoz said. It’s a bittersweet moment for Muñoz as she leaves her Montwood teammates behind, but come August 2019 she will be joining her older sister, Choco Muñoz at Division II, University of Texas of the Permian Basin, in nearby Odessa, Texas. Choco, also a softball standout at Montwood High School softball, is a sophomore and catcher on the UTPB softball team, so adding a little family chemistry to the team should be a positive thing for the Falcons who finished last in the 2019 Lone Star Conference standings with a conference record of 3-27 and 10-39 overall.
A positive attitude, a change in scenery, playing alongside her sister Choco, and a new uniform color…orange and white, should be a great and fresh start for the 18 year old Muñoz. She plans to continue pitching and playing the hot corner…third base, as she hopes to make an impact on the Falcons squad. Montwood Softball head coach Cynthia Hernandez, who is in her fourth year as head coach, has high hopes for her soon to be ex-player. “This team is extremely special…Azul is extremely special,” Hernandez said. “I started coaching Azul since she was 10-years old when I was coaching club, and I just happened get the head coaching job here.” Hernandez smiles at the thought of what her fifth year has in store for her and her team. She will be losing four impact players to graduation, but she has a full squad with lots of varsity experience who are ready to step up and take on the challenge of a new season. One of those returning players is Ariana Garcia, freshman catcher, who had many positive things to say about her senior pitcher “I think she’s a good consistent pitcher, she hits her spots, has some good speed, and confuses the batters because of her pitch selection.”
David Campa, a local fast pitch legend, has been working as a pitching coach with Muñoz and sees positive things for her on the horizon as she takes her game to the next level. “I’ve been working with her for about two years. In the past month, I worked with her for two weeks and introduced her to a couple of new pitches, a reverse circle change-up and a knuckle ball…she improved a lot,” Campa said. “She’s definitely added some arsenal to her menu of pitches, besides a hard fastball”
Family support means so much to Azul, and she’ll have plenty of that once she gets settled in East Texas. Her sister Choco a teammate, her father Fernando Munoz, employed by FEDEX in Odessa, Texas, and her mother, Ana Ortega making the short three and-a-half hour trip from El Paso along with her two younger sisters Isabella and Camila Muñoz along with her older brother Daniel Muñoz. It sounds like UTPB got themselves a great package deal and cheering section with the Muñoz girls.
