Shiner standout pitcher Cece Darilek
chooses Mary Hardin-Baylor
Tuesday, November 21, 2015
by Tony Tsoukalas, Victoria Advocate Sports Reporter
AdvoSports.com Article | Shiner Lady Comanche Softball | Shiner Comanche Sports Home Page
SHINER — Shiner senior Cece Darilek has dominated on the softball diamond and in the classroom.
Shiner's Cece Darilek, center, shares a moment with her parents, Helen Darilek, left, and Darby Darilek, and softball coaches, standing from left, John Hoelter and Steven Cerny, after Darilek signed her letter of intent to continue playing softball at Mary Hardin-Baylor. contributed photo
Friday, she took a step toward doing both at the college level when she signed her commitment to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in front of friends and family in the Shiner gym.
"They have a very strong physical therapy program," said Darilek of her decision to sign with the Crusaders. "I really want to excel at that as well as softball in college.
The Shiner pitcher led the Lady Comanches to a UIL Class 2A State Championship last season, going 24-2 with a 1.58 ERA on the season including an 8-0 mark in the playoffs. Darilek batted .488 and earned the Advocate All-Area Most Valuable Player Award. She was a UIL State All-Tournament team pitcher and earned the Texas Sports Writer Association's player of the year.
In the classroom, Darilek has earned high honors the past three years and is a member of the National Honor Society.
Darilek chose Mary Hardin-Baylor over several college offers, including Division I program University of Louisiana-Lafayette. While she enjoyed the recruiting process, Darilek said signing early took a huge weight off her shoulders heading into softball season. "I am glad that I signed and I don't have to worry about it anymore," Darilek said. "It was fun, but I'm definitely glad that I found where I am supposed to be."
Darilek plans to pitch and hit in college and was told by Mary Hardin-Baylor coaches that she will have the opportunity to earn playing time as a freshman.
This season, she said she plans to fine-tune some of her newer pitches while adding more speed from the circle. Currently, Darilek's pitching repertoire consists of a curveball, screwball, riseball, changeup and a curve drop.
"I'm pretty confident we can get back to last year and hopefully even better," Darilek said. "Everyone is going to hopefully work just as hard, or even harder than they did last year, because we know everyone is going to be gunning for us."
[ Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusader Softball ]
( see also this Shiner Gazette story )
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