{"id":100359,"date":"2022-04-22T18:24:54","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T23:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=100359"},"modified":"2022-04-23T10:16:35","modified_gmt":"2022-04-23T15:16:35","slug":"uic-cristian-lopez-difficult-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/uic-cristian-lopez-difficult-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"UIC’s Cristian Lopez’s resilience comes to light on difficult journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jack Savage<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

When the moment comes to step onto the mound, University of Illinois Chicago\u2019s Cristian Lopez takes off his hat and stares at the four phrases he has written on the inside of the bill.<\/p>\n

Cutthroat mentality. No fatigue. PVO (positive vibes only). Dance with fear.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each phrase embodies Lopez and his journey, and helps remind him who he is and how he got here. How many athletes can change positions at the collegiate level, move across the country and battle a life-threatening injury, all while navigating a pandemic? Yet, that\u2019s exactly what Lopez has endured on his journey.<\/p>\n

Much like his start on April 10, in which he led the Flames to a 2-1 series-clinching victory over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, going seven innings while surrendering only one run, Lopez just kept battling. Pitching in and out of jams all game long \u2014 that\u2019s been his mantra all his life.<\/p>\n

From community college catcher to starting Division I pitcher, the road for the Southern California native has been filled with twists at nearly every turn. In 2017, Lopez began his college career at Cypress Community College back home in Orange County, California, as a catcher. However, he wasn\u2019t seeing much playing time and began to get discouraged.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like my opportunity to play at the next level was slowly closing,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n

His future at catcher looked bleak, and he knew he needed to make a change. While he pitched sparingly in high school, Lopez knew that moving back on the mound might be his only chance if he wanted his career to continue. Lopez\u2019s younger brother Nick wasn\u2019t surprised in the least when his brother made the switch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew he had a good arm,\u201d the younger Lopez said. \u201cWe grew up in a baseball household and played everywhere. I saw firsthand the type of player Cristian is. He\u2019s always so calm and collected with his game, the position change didn\u2019t surprise me at all. He worked his ass off.\u201d<\/p>\n

After three seasons at Cypress, Cristian Lopez committed to UIC, trading in his flip-flops for snow boots. The work Lopez put in to make it to the next level had finally paid off. He arrived at UIC ready to compete for a starting role and was ready to seize the moment \u2026 and then the world shut down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen COVID hit, I went back home to train and prepare for the (MLB) draft,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cI was optimistic I would be able to sign that year, but unfortunately it didn\u2019t happen. I got real down on myself but stayed the course and returned to UIC.\u201d<\/p>\n

COVID-19 cut short Lopez\u2019s first season at UIC, but nearly a year later, he battled back and earned that coveted starting role in the rotation he had been after for so long. It was all coming together for the powerful right-hander \u2014 until doctors found three blood clots in his throwing shoulder.<\/p>\n

A pinched vein in Lopez\u2019s right shoulder caused the blood clots to form, threatening his life if they were to move any closer to his lungs or heart. Surgeons had to partially shave down one of his ribs, remove parts of the muscles in his neck and then inflate the vein that was getting pinched to make sure it wouldn\u2019t occur again. It was a complicated procedure that made for a grueling rehab.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter my surgery, I felt like I\u2019d never get back to where I was again,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cI was in so much pain afterwards, I came close to not even wanting to come back. But I had a lot of support from my family, friends and teammates, who really helped me through it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with his younger brother Nick, Cory Moore \u2014 a teammate of Lopez\u2019s at Cypress and now at UIC \u2014 was another constant figure in Lopez\u2019s life who has played an integral role in his journey. They have traveled a similar path, with Moore being by Lopez\u2019s side through all of his highs and lows over the last couple of years. Moore knows exactly what Lopez is made of.<\/p>\n

\u201cCristian shows up every day and just works,\u201d Moore said. \u201cHe never shows up in a bad mood. He busted his ass in junior college to get himself out and has never had anything handed to him. He\u2019s had to go out and take it. Day in and day out, he grinds.\u201d<\/p>\n

While UIC has stumbled to a 12-17 record at the halfway point of the season, Lopez won\u2019t let that steal his joy, as he puts everything he\u2019s gone through into perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just try to have fun and keep it light,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cI try not to let the moment get bigger than it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCristian could\u2019ve quit playing multiple times throughout the last couple years with everything he\u2019s gone through,\u201d Nick Lopez said. \u201cBut he didn\u2019t. I\u2019m so proud that he\u2019s still playing and continuing to live the dreams we both dreamt of as kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

From a 17-year-old boy who could barely sniff the starting lineup at a junior college, to the starting pitcher on a Division I team who overcame a life-threatening injury, Cristian Lopez will continue to \u201cnot let the moment get bigger than it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jack Savage is a sports reporter at Medill. You can follow him on Twitter at\u00a0<\/em>@jackksavage.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jack Savage Medill Reports When the moment comes to step onto the mound, University of Illinois Chicago\u2019s Cristian Lopez takes off his hat and stares at the four phrases he has written on the inside of the bill. Cutthroat mentality. No fatigue. PVO (positive vibes only). Dance with fear.\u00a0 Each phrase embodies Lopez and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":804,"featured_media":100362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5251,5061,31,5282],"tags":[5298,4999,5300,5301,5297,1594,5299],"class_list":["post-100359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago","category-featured","category-sports","category-spring-2022","tag-college-baseball","tag-covid-19","tag-cristian-lopez","tag-cypress-community-college","tag-flames","tag-uic","tag-university-of-illinois-chicago"],"yoast_head":"\nUIC's Cristian Lopez's resilience comes to light on difficult journey - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UIC's Cristian Lopez has had a difficult journey throughout the last five years, but it has finally all come together this season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/uic-cristian-lopez-difficult-journey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UIC's Cristian Lopez's resilience comes to light on difficult journey - 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