Alex Hernandez had a fantastic first year of college, earning First Team Freshman All-American honors. He was also named the 2025 ACC Freshman of the Year. This season, Hernandez posted a .415 on-base percentage and drew 32 walks. In three games with Y-D, Hernandez has already reached base six times.
Throughout the game, Hernandez displayed excellent discipline at the dish. After a single in his first plate appearance, Hernandez came to the plate in the fourth inning with a chance to drive in the game’s first run. Garrett Wright, having reached base due to a hit-by-pitch, was at third base with one out. Hernandez took a 1-0 pitch to deep center field, easily scoring Wright on a sacrifice fly.
When Hernandez’s third at-bat rolled around, Y-D had Avery Ortiz on second base with no outs, trailing by three runs. Hernandez took the first two strikes, putting himself in an 0–2 hole. He battled back to work an impressive seven-pitch walk — his fourth free pass of the young 2025 summer campaign.
With Wright on third base in the 4th inning, he was aggressive, knowing a fly ball was all he needed. After falling 0-2 against Zack Konstantinovsky (Rutgers), Hernandez’s patience paid off, as he came around to score on Cody Miller’s two-run single. The Georgia native showed the ability to combat both situations, while keeping the same mindset of making sure the at-bat ended in his favor.
“For the sac fly, [the pitcher] was kind of a spin-ball guy, and the heater wasn’t going to beat me. I wanted to see the ball as deep as I could, and it ended up working out,” Hernandez said after Y-D tied Bourne 4-4 in a darkness-shortened matchup. “For the walk, I got down pretty early and I just tried to battle back, ended up getting a nice walk out of it”
The 6'2" utility-man played multiple positions for the Yellow Jackets, shuffling around both the infield and outfield. Hernandez takes pride in his positional versatility, as it helps complement his impressive offensive skill set.
“I like it a lot for the team,” Hernandez said on Monday night. “It shows the trust that the coaches have in me.”
Y-D manager Scott Pickler has already showed how much trust he has in Hernandez, deploying him at two different positions just three games into the season. Hernandez played first base during the season opener on Saturday, but was in charge of patrolling right field on Sunday at Red Wilson Field. Pickler put the Georgia Tech star at first base once again on Monday night.
Having the plethora of positions not only gives Pickler more options, but it helps Hernandez become more valuable than he already is for this Y-D squad. He’s poised to be a key component for this team moving forward, whether it’s with his bat, glove, or both.
(Photo by Sophie Solarino)
