Alvin HS senior Jodie Aguirre is tearing it up on the diamond and in the classroom

ALVIN - One of the top girl’s high school softball pitchers in the nation, Jodie Aguirre finished the 2018 season 33-5 – that’s top 5 in the nation. And, move over Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, Jodie is top 5 in the nation with 350 strikeouts, district MVP, Greater Houston 1st team, and 2nd Team All-State.

All of this didn’t just happen.

“Her freshman year she started as a second baseman. She was a backup pitcher and starting second baseman. So, you know, she's been in our hitting lineup for three years now, going to be the fourth this year. And then, you know, a kid like that that's a backup pitcher that wants to be on the field,” says Alvin High School head softball coach David McCorkle.

“My first year here at Alvin was her freshman year. So we came in together. I had high hopes for her. I knew that once Rachel was gone she was the next one up,” says Varsity Asst. Softball Coach Tiffany Neal.

Rachel Hertenberger is now pitching at the University of Houston, and Jodie, who’s been playing softball since age 7, now has the ball, thanks in huge part to dad.

“He was a baseball player. He loved the game so much. He loved it. And he wanted to share his love for baseball with me with softball,” Jodie says.

She played volleyball and basketball in junior high, but softball won her heart and it's paying off.

Jodie has committed to play softball at Brown University, but she can’t get there just on athletics. She’s Number 3 in her class with a GPA of 6.785. Her course load?

“Dual credit music appreciation, AP English 4, AP research, AP statistics, AP physics C mechanics, AP environmental science and softball," she says.

“She made my job a lot better and it made me enjoy education. When students like her come around, you know, it's worth it. It gives you the 10-year boost to continue to go because you know there are kids out there that care and will do whatever it takes,” says AP physics teacher Fernando Hinojosa.

Especially with an intense course like physics, which is Jodie’s favorite subject, but sometimes there’s a light moment in class.

“One day we had an assignment where most kids finish early and we had a basketball net on the back. And Jodie was, you know, showing off her middle school basketball skills, trying to cross people up and, you know, dribbling the ball between her legs and trying to dunk on other friends that are much taller than her. It was so funny. In that day, I saw Jodie, the light side of Jodie,” Mr. Hinojosa says.