Being a freshman is no easy task, especially on sports teams, but Jordan Alexander fits right in on the boys varsity baseball team. Since he was three years old playing on the Orange Youth Baseball Softball fields, Alexander said he has dreamed of playing for the LCM Varsity team.

“I used to come out and watch the Bears play and I would always think, ‘Man I’m going to be out there one day,'” Alexander said. “So it feels pretty good about being able to actually say I’ve made one of my dreams come true.”

According to Alexander, it definitely took time getting used to being on the varsity team, but he has adjusted and is now part of the Bear Baseball family.

“The first couple practices I was just any other freshman, but then some stuff happened and they started to respect me as a ball player and they gave me my nickname,” Alexander said. “But at the beginning, I was definitely nervous.”

Alexander is known to his teammates as “Hollywood” and he got his nickname from one of the seniors, Vinny Hale, who said Alexander could pass as a professional actor.

Out of all his years of playing baseball, the freshman outfielder said his favorite memory was when he was on his 12-year old All-Star team, which had gone to State the previous two years and was expecting to again when they found themselves up 13-4 against Jasper.

“The bases were loaded bottom of the sixth,” Alexander said. “I’m up to bat and my uncle walks up to me and said, ‘Y’all are going to win anyways so just take the hardest swing of your life,’ and I’m ready to go so I get up there take a few pitches and a high outside fastball comes. And I made contact and it went right over the right field wall and I never really processed that I got a walk off grand slam until I got back in the dugout.”

Baseball manager Layne Lewis is one of the many upperclassmen who has come to think of Alexander as part of the baseball family and said there is no doubt that he has a bright future as a Bear.

“I’ve never seen a freshman get more respect from seniors as Jordan has,” Lewis said. “He’s a hard worker and a great ball player. Jordan has had a great influence on the team and has helped create team chemistry.”

Even though the Bear Baseball season is still going strong, Alexander said he is already planning on improving even more for next year during the off-season.

“I plan on working out, doing a lot of tee work, and as much as I can to make me faster and stronger for the next season,” Alexander said.