Bonuz & Cervantes Capture Javelinas Awards

Baseball and softball players of year honored at South Texas Winter Banquet Jan. 18

January 9, 2024

CORPUS CHRISTI – Steven Bonuz and Jory Cervantes will represent the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball and softball programs at next week’s South Texas Winter Baseball Banquet, presented by Whataburger. Bonuz, a product of Port Lavaca’s Calhoun High School, started 48 of the Javelinas’ 52 games last year. The fifth-year senior catcher

CORPUS CHRISTI – Steven Bonuz and Jory Cervantes will represent the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball and softball programs at next week’s South Texas Winter Baseball Banquet, presented by Whataburger.

Bonuz, a product of Port Lavaca’s Calhoun High School, started 48 of the Javelinas’ 52 games last year. The fifth-year senior catcher batted .331 with 42 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, and 46 RBIs. Bonuz coaxed 15 walks against 27 strikeouts while logging a .392 on-base average.

After playing just eight games in 2022, Bonuz bounced back by becoming a fixture on TAMUK’s offensive leaderboard, while being charged with only two errors behind the plate.

He drove in a career-best six RBIs February 19 vs. Eastern New Mexico. The sterling showing came four games removed from a 5-for-7 effort at West Texas A&M on February 12.

Bonuz boasted a pair of two-homer performances in 2023, with both coming over a five-game span to finish the campaign. During this stretch, he batted .389 (7-for-18) with 10 runs scored and seven RBIs to go along with five round-trippers. Bonuz blast three of those circuit clouts over the course of an April 22 doubleheader at Texas A&M-International.

The Victoria native was a three-year varsity letter-winner at Calhoun, earning all-state catching honors as a senior for the Sandcrabs.

Cervantes did not miss a game in each of her five seasons with TAMUK Softball. The lefty lead-off hitter from Pflugerville established a new Javelinas record for career hits with 293. Cervantes’ 241 games played are tied for first in TAMUK annuals.

In 2023, Cervantes batted .383 with 40 runs scored, eight extra-base hits, 11 RBIs, and 17 walks compared to 23 strikeouts. In addition to toting a .446 on-base average, the speedy outfielder stole 13 bases en route to All-Region recognition by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association for a second consecutive season.

An All-Lone Star Conference First Teamer from 2021 to 2023, Cervantes earned LSC Gold Glove honors as a redshirt senior, committing only one error in 82 total chances for a .988 fielding percentage. She authored a pair of double-digit hitting streaks last season, including a 16-gamer from March 8 to April 1.

Cervantes, who batted at a .425 clip over 62 games in 2022, owned a .374 batting average and .427 on-base percentage in her Javelinas career. She also totaled 62 steals while rounding the bases for the Blue & Gold.

Headlined by Astros TV reporter Julia Morales, the 18th edition of the South Texas Winter Baseball Banquet is Thursday, January 18 at the American Bank Center’s Henry Garrett Ballroom.

Phone 361-561-HOOK (4665) to purchase reserved seats. Doors open at 6 PM with the program beginning at 7.

In addition to recognizing 60 Coastal Bend high school student-athletes (2024 Softball Preseason All-Stars | 2024 Baseball Preseason All-Stars) the Hooks will present awards to the area’s top prep softball and baseball coaches, mustered from Calallen, Santa Gertrudis Academy, Sinton, and London.