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In the second half of senior year, most students count the days until their time in high school is over. With one month of the baseball season remaining, Memorial senior Emmanuel Garcia is cherishing every moment playing alongside younger brother Abel Garcia, who is a freshman on the team.

In his final few games with the Titans, Emmanuel said his goal is to earn a college scholarship and be an extra coach for Abel.

“I have been waiting to play with him since I was a freshman, really,” Emmanuel said. “I have been on varsity and I am so glad that he has the same opportunity I did.”

Abel said he loves playing on the same team as his brother.

“I love my brother,” he said. “He is the best and he teaches me a lot. I look up to him a lot. He is my big brother and he is a big inspiration to me.”

Both said the Astros are their favorite team and share fond memories of watching Houston win the World Series in 2017 and getting close last season.

Emmanuel said he enjoys baseball because it requires players to be excellent mentally and physically.

“It is all about mechanics and craft,” he said. “If you have a day where you are not working on your craft, you can have a bad day or a 4-for-4 day. You have to be mentally strong.”

While the senior has been able to accomplish a lot on the diamond, his most memorable moments involve playing with Abel.

“I have been looking forward to playing with him,” Emmanuel said. “He is just a freshman, but he has been helping us out a lot. He has always played up. I see him as a senior. He plays like a senior. You can’t be a freshman on varsity. That is how I feel. He can go D-I. He just has to put his mind to it.”

The two are competitive, but brotherly love makes the two concede to each other as being the better player.

“If he is not better than me in any way, I am not doing my job,” Emmanuel said of Abel. “He should be better than me.”

Abel wants to continue to improve his game in the final month of the season.

“I want to help the team get better and I want to finish the season strong with all of my brothers,” Abel said.

The Titans have yet to win a district game, but the Garcia brothers are happy to be playing the game they love.

“This is the sport I will always love,” Emmanuel said. “It feels great to be out here every day and putting in work. No days off. It feels amazing every day.”