Baseball helps Santa Fe’s star pitcher move on
SANTA FE — Baseball players dressed in gray pants and green T-shirts line up in left field to warm up on a balmy May afternoon. A Gulf breeze blows the leaves on the trees lined up as a backdrop for a regular day of practice for the Santa Fe baseball team.
The squad is focused and sharp. The players are excited. This week, they’ll play in the Class 5A Region III semifinals, the deepest the Indians have advanced in the postseason since 2012.
Everything about this afternoon practice looks normal. But close up, memories of last May linger.
Ace Rome Shubert has a small scar under his left ear. That was the exit point of a bullet that struck the back of his head during a mass shooting at the high school just over a year ago.
A faded yellow sign still hangs on the concession window at the old ballpark. It reads, “SANTA FE STRONG.”
Dozens of these can be found on businesses along a stretch of Highway 6 or in the front yards of homes in surrounding neighborhoods. The small community has moved on but hasn’t forgotten.
On May 18 of last year, eight students and two teachers died, and 13 others — including Shubert — were injured when a gunman opened fire at Santa Fe High School. While they still honor the memory of their fallen classmates, still proudly stand
“Santa Fe strong,” the students, teachers and staff don’t like to talk about that day.
“We try to just focus on getting back to normal,” Shubert said.
“Normal” is a word Shubert goes back to often. The pitcher, who is committed to the University of Houston, tried finding his normalcy as quickly as possible after the shooting.
His story was told often in the days following the community tragedy. He had been shot in the head but at the precise angle and in the perfect location to avoid serious injury. In giving several interviews, including on national television, he became a face of the incident. It was overwhelming. Shubert was obviously grateful that he’d escaped with a minor injury, but reliving the day over and over was weighing on him. He quickly turned to baseball to find his way and to take his mind off the shooting.
“I think baseball was the most healing thing,” Shubert said. “I don’t know what I would have done without having a sport I love to turn to.
“Baseball helped me more than anything.”
Santa Fe played the day after the shooting, having collectively decided to do so for the community. Its season ended with a 7-0 loss to Kingwood Park.
Shubert played throughout the summer and set personal goals. He wanted to improve the velocity on his fastball and perfect his changeup, a pitch that has become his most dangerous.
Between honing his pitching, getting back to school for his junior year and trying to keep his grades up, Shubert worked on returning to his everyday routines. By the time this season started, he and his teammates were ready to take on the challenge. The Indians knew they had a team capable of winning district and making a playoff run.
While focusing on baseball, they also never forgot what they’d lost in the shooting. There’s a balance everyone at the school is constantly trying to maintain: Move forward, be strong, get back into the swing of things, all while honoring the memory of the fallen.
“This season has always been about something bigger than us, bigger than baseball,” Shubert said. “We are playing for the 10.”
It has been a great year. The Indians are 22-9-2, and coach Ronnie Wulf, in his 23rd season at Santa Fe, picked up his 500th win along the way.
The wooden bleachers behind home plate at Santa Fe’s field remained full all season. The stands also have been packed at road games, especially during the playoff run.
Shubert grins every time he thinks about looking up and seeing fans cheering for him and his teammates.
“It means a lot,” he said. “And it reminds us that we are helping everyone come together and heal.”
Two weeks ago, in the first round of the playoffs at Crosby High School, Shubert tied a career high with 14 strikeouts. He and his team were determined to advance past an elimination game.
They knew baseball was helping their town. With the anniversary of the shooting approaching, a deep playoff run would give the community something to cheer. Santa Fe defeated Barbers Hill in two games in the second round. By advancing last Friday night, they were off on Saturday, exactly one year after the horrible day.
Wulf didn’t spend a lot of time this year talking to his team about the shooting.
“We are never going to forget,” he said. “Nobody is ever going to forget, but you have to move on as best you can. This is a good group of kids. They work well together. They do a lot of things together. They are a tightknit group. We always talk about our baseball family, and they really are a family out here.”
As the anniversary approached, Wulf told his players they might see more media and spectators at games and that people might bring up the incident.
“They’ve stayed focused, though,” he said. “They keep the task ahead on their minds.”
The next task is Georgetown at 7 p.m. Thursday at Blinn College. Game 2 is at 7 p.m. Friday at Nutrabolt Stadium in Bryan. Game 3, if necessary, will be at noon Saturday at Nutrabolt.
Shubert, who is 10-1 this season with a 0.84 ERA, will pitch Thursday. He can’t wait to get back on the field. It’s where he’s at his best.
The distraction of baseball has helped him heal. All that’s left from the bullet that struck that back of his head is the scar that sits under the curly blond hair tucked in his cap.
And while his opponents most certainly recognize him and know what he and his teammates have been through, they don’t bring it up. On the field, it’s just about baseball.
“They treat us like a normal high school baseball team,” Shubert said. “And that’s what I wanted. I didn’t want us to be seen as that team that went through that terrible thing. I just wanted to get back to normal.”
And when Shubert steps on the mound, he’s there.