UTSA softball is achieving its greatest success in years under coach Vann Stuedeman, and one of the primary reasons is the arrival of a pitching star. When asked what gives Stuedeman hope for the remainder of the season, the first word out of her mouth was a single name: Arlette. Stuedeman’s greatest hope is a freshman phenom from South Texas creating waves in the American Conference.
In her first college season, Arlette Hernandez repeatedly exceeded her coach’s expectations, solidifying her spot as the team’s leader in the pitching circle. The biggest indicator of Stuedeman’s trust in her star is her usage rate. Hernandez starts two out of three games in every series, and she often pitches the full seven innings. Out of 27 starts, she’s completed 17 games as the team’s sole pitcher.
“That means a lot because that’s a lot of trust going into me, especially from my head coach,” Hernandez stated. “But it also has to do with our offense and our defense, because without them, I wouldn’t be where I am right now because they also make me look so good.”
The relationship between the coach and her star pitcher is mutually beneficial. Stuedeman spent 11 years as the pitching coach for the University of Alabama, and Hernandez is growing under sharp tutelage.
“In the bullpen, when I don’t know a question to something, I know to go ask [Stuedeman] because she was a pitching coach,” Hernandez said. “She’s been there. So when [assistant coach] Mack Morgan, who is also helping me, but I still don’t know what else to do and we still can’t find it, we go to coach Vann. She’s just very helpful because she just knows it somehow right away.”
Hernandez had to fight the odds just to be a college athlete. She hails from Mission, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley and acknowledges the challenges for athletes from the region.
“My recruiting process was very late because in the Valley, it’s just like, there’s not very much exposure down there,” Hernandez stated. “So you have to really just go and travel so you can go to the bigger colleges, and [the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley] down there doesn’t have a softball program.”
Hernandez joined club teams out of Houston and San Antonio to get eyes on her, and caught the attention of UTSA assistant coach Jim Bray while playing in San Antonio. Despite the four-hour drive away from home, the star is comfortable in the River City.
“I wanted to be close to my family,” Hernandez said. “UTSA, when I came on my visit, it felt like home. Like here, the culture just felt really homey. I just wanted to stay close to home.”
Hernandez has acclimated to her new environment. While enjoying Sushic, her favorite on-campus restaurant, and playing Mafia with her teammates in the airport, No. 34 is producing results at a major level on the field. She has pitched a conference-leading 169.2 innings so far this season, nearly half of UTSA’s total mound time. She leads the team in earned run average, walks and hits per innings pitched and opponent batting average. It makes sense that Stuedeman wants Hernandez setting the tone on Friday and Sunday every weekend.
“Starting Friday, I have to mentally prepare myself to be so consistent in the strike zone and limit the amount of pitches I throw so I can get myself ready for Sunday,” she explained.
On top of the double duty she performs in the conference series, Hernandez has pitched against some of the most talented softball players in the country. UTSA has faced three teams ranked in the top 10 nationally this season, including No. 1 The University of Texas at Austin and No. 3 Texas Tech University.
“When I enter that mound, I always have to think that it’s not about the name,” Hernandez stated. “It’s not about how they’re doing. It’s about how I perform and how I execute the pitches, how everything goes on. That has really prepped me for the American Conference because no matter how good their record is, I just got to pitch to the certain batter and execute that.”
Should UTSA make a conference tournament run, or perhaps an NCAA tournament appearance, these top matchups will propel the team and its best pitcher forward with confidence. With one series left in American Conference play, UTSA softball could reach as high as fourth place in the standings.
“Even if we’re in practice, and we have an off day, we just hold each other accountable and push ourselves because this is not the time to lag off,” Hernandez said. “This is the time where we have to push.”
Stuedeman’s program is stepping towards excellence, and Hernandez is the lead ‘Runner.
