| Hope Ortiz was a three-year letterwinner from 2004-06. |
HOUSTON ? Former UTSA softball player Hope Ortiz passed away Thursday morning at M.D. Anderson Hospital after an eight-month battle with leukemia. She was 23 years old.
A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, at the Ritchea-Gonzales Funeral Home Chapel in Sinton and at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Odem. Funeral mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 26, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Interment will follow in the San Pedro Cemetery in Odem. (Ritchea-Gonzales Funeral Home, Inc., 120 S. McCall, Sinton, Texas 78387 / 361-364-1311)
Ortiz was a three-year letterwinner for the Roadrunners’ back-to-back-to-back Southland Conference Regular Season Championship teams from 2004-06. The right-hander from Odem High School near Corpus Christi posted a 6-1 record, 3.02 ERA ? which ranks eighth on UTSA’s all-time list ? 34 strikeouts and two saves in 28 career appearances. As a senior in 2006, Ortiz registered a 2-0 record, 2.58 ERA and 14 strikeouts in helping UTSA to a 37-14 record and their second SLC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in three seasons.
“We are all devastated by the passing of Hope,” head coach Lori Cook said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family in this very difficult time.
“Hope was not just a softball player at UTSA. She was the ultimate teammate and friend. She was always there for everyone and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. She came to the field everyday with a smile on her face and did everything that was asked of her. Hope went about her business in the classroom and on the field. She was a pleasure to coach and will be deeply missed by everyone she touched.”
Ortiz transferred to UTSA after playing her freshman season at Temple College, where she was 5-0 with a 0.58 ERA. A standout prep performer at Odem, she tallied a 21-9 record and earned first-team all-district honors as a senior. Ortiz, who won more than 80 career games for the Owls, was a member of the National Honor Society and graduated eighth in her senior class.
She is survived by her parents, Arnold and Sandra Ortiz of Odem, Texas; her brothers, Christopher Ortiz and Nicolas Ortiz of Odem, Texas; her sister, Allison Ortiz of Odem, Texas; maternal grandmother, Carolina Garcia of Odem, Texas; her aunts and uncles, Freddy and Iris Acevedo, Frankie and Delma Cantu, Michelle and Jerry Villarreal and Joaquin Quinones and seven cousins all of Odem, Texas. She is preceded in death by her maternal grandfather, Felipe Acevedo. She is also survived by her paternal grandparents, Bacilio and Genoveva Ortiz, aunts and uncles, Adriana and Robert Quintero of Corpus Christi, Texas, Bacilio, Jr. and Lucinda Ortiz of Ingleside, Texas, Arnulfo and Ninfa Ortiz of Conroe, Texas, Amy and Steve Perez of Corpus Christi, Texas and eleven cousins and many, many friends.
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