Von Rosenberg playing strong at Hartford

Former Sharyland standout Jaret Von Rosenberg (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) continues to rank among the team leaders at Hartford during the 2008-09 basketball season. Von Rosenberg, a senior who transferred from Collin County, has led the team twice in scoring from his guard position, where he poured in 24 points against St. Francis and 19 points against Baylor. He is averaging 11.9 points and four rebounds while playing 35.5 minutes per game.

Brownsville Hanna has two former players in the college ranks. Robert Moreno (5-6, 165) is a senior guard at McMurry, while guard Eileen Pineda is in her first season at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Moreno is netting 4.6 points in 29.9 minutes per game for the American Southwest Conference West Division squad.

Pineda scored 17 and 19 points respectively in two outings against St. Martin's University before the holiday break. The McLennan Community College transfer is playing 21.8 minutes per game while averaging 12.0 points. She has connected on 8 of 20 treys and leads the team in scoring with 60 points in five games.

At Lindenwood University in Missouri, La Joya's Crystal Castillo (5-7, senior) and Edinburg High's Gina Ferrer (5-7, junior) are competing for the Lady Lions of the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Castillo has appeared in all 12 games, netting 4.8 points. Ferrer is scoring 6.1 points, having played in seven games. Lindenwood has been off since Dec. 11 for the holidays and swings back into action Thursday against Missouri Valley.

At the collegiate coaching level, former University of Texas-Pan American player Robert Kirby (1983) serves as an assistant at Mississippi State. Kirby is widely considered to be one of the most respected veteran assistants in the major college ranks. He is in his 11th season of his second tour of duty with the Mississippi State program.

Baseball

Andre Rodriguez, a 2008 graduate of Sharyland, is making a strong bid for playing time this spring at Missouri. Rodriguez had two good outings in the Mizzou Baseball's Fall World Series as a true freshman. He had two hits as the Gold team won 13-12 and drove in a two runs with a double in another game. The Tigers will spend the first two weeks of the season in the Phoenix area, playing nine games before their home opener against Western Illinois on March 1. Missouri visits Texas from March 13 through 15 to open Big 12 play.

When the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College opens its season Jan. 23, five true freshman will be on the roster. Valley players for the 2008 season include Peter Maldonado (Harlingen South), Robert Mariscal (La Joya), Juan Munoz (Brownsville Lopez), Dennis Ortiz (Brownsville Porter) and Jacob Venegas (Weslaco High). The Scorpions will play a 55-game schedule, which includes 36 home games.

Pikey Rodriguez is a longtime sportswriter in the Rio Grande Valley. His column runs every Tuesday. To report college news, he can be reached at (956) 683-4450 or via e-mail at wbaker@themonitor.com.