VON ORMY, Texas – A massive showing of support flooded the Southwest High School softball field to remember a life lost too soon.
Angelina Terrazas, a 17-year-old Southwest High School softball standout, died Saturday after a months-long battle with ovarian cancer.
The Southwest Independent School District community and softball players from across the region gathered this week to honor her life, remembering her as a fierce competitor, devoted teammate and beloved friend.
“She was a fierce competitor. They played hard behind her because they knew her work ethic,” said assistant coach Taylor Doege, who served as Terrazas’ pitching coach. “She would call them out and hold them accountable — that’s what you need in a leader, somebody who’s going to lift everybody up.”
Doege said Terrazas’ dedication to the game was evident even before her diagnosis. During a district opener in February, Terrazas struck out 14 batters while unknowingly pitching through pain that would later lead to her diagnosis of Stage 3 ovarian cancer.
“We as coaches didn’t even know,” Doege said. “She pitched our first district game in pain. … She came out and struck out 14 girls.”
When the diagnosis was revealed, the team rallied around their star pitcher.
“They were scared at first,” Doege said, “but it brought them together even more — now they were playing for something, or somebody, bigger than softball.”
Family members said Terrazas faced her illness with the same determination she showed on the field.
“She was strong and fighting,” said Caitlin Terrazas, her cousin. “She didn’t want help — she was swatting nurses away.”
Just hours before her death on Saturday, Terrazas was presented with her high school diploma during a special ceremony surrounded by friends, family and teammates.
“I told her I love you, and she was able to whisper back, ‘I love you too,’” Caitlin Terrazas said. “I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Coaches and teammates said her leadership, selflessness and spirit will continue to inspire them.
“She was just a great friend to these girls, a great teammate, and she represented this community so well on this field and in class,” Doege said.
Terrazas had earned a full scholarship to play softball at the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky.
As part of the tributes, Soulshine Industries, the same company that designed caskets for victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting, will personalize her casket.
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