Luis Roman, the Rams’ offensive leader, started playing baseball in Puerto Rico when he was three years old.

At 16, Roman moved to Houston with his uncle in hopes of working toward his dream of playing professional baseball.

Roman graduated from Klein Oak High School, and from there he played two years at Northwood University and one year at Keiser University. Now in his senior year at Texas Wesleyan, he is the Rams’ offensive leader with 69 hits, 14 home runs and a .738 slugging percentage, according to ramsports.net.

“I’m blessed to say that we are having a great year,” Roman said.

Roman said that his parents and sister are his motivation for baseball.

“They have sacrificed so many things for me and baseball,” Roman said. “That’s why I love baseball, because I play for them. I represent them. I work hard to show them that their sacrifices are not in vain. I’ve been blessed to have my dad come watch me pay my senior year, because he has never seen me play a full season in college. In my mind I always try to make my dad enjoy watching me play every single time.”

Roman’s goals go beyond statistical measures.

“My personal goal is to be a great teammate and help this team by doing whatever it takes to go and win the World Series,” he said. “We are going to play hard every day and we will not quit until the final out.”

Roman plans to graduate in May 2018, and then plans to start hosting baseball camps in Houston.

“My main goal is to keep young kids off the streets,” Roman said. “I want to show them that if you work hard in baseball the game will reward you with opportunities in life even if you don’t make it professionally. There is so much more to the game than playing it. ”     

Alex Lopez, a senior pitcher, said that Roman’s desire to win is one characteristic that the team values most.

“He is always fired up and ready to go no matter what team we are playing,” Lopez said. “He keeps everyone motivated and locked into the game even if we are up or down by a lot.”

Lopez also said that he has been an instant impact player on the team.

“He is leading our team in almost every offensive category,” Lopez said. “He has been a machine all year and doesn’t look like he is going to slow down.”

Robert Garza, assistant baseball coach, wrote in an email that Roman’s leadership goes beyond the statistics.

“Luis always comes to the baseball field with an infectious smile,” Garza wrote.  “To me, that is leadership. He enjoys being on the baseball field and it has been fun watching him leads his team.”

Garza said that as for the team and the rest of the season, the competition is only going to be tougher.

“We need to play well and minimize our mistakes and capitalize on others team mistakes,” Garza said. “For Luis, we want him to finish the season the way he has played all year. Enjoy playing each day. Play hard. Work hard. Have an infectious attitude that will make players better.”