By Steven Roberts
Alexia Jorge is a baseball player. She’s not a softball player that decided to switch over to baseball. She’s not a novelty or a token player. She is a baseball player, and always has been.
Starting at three years old, Alexia was a sub on her older brother’s tee-ball team. She played alongside him on the varsity boy’s team all the way through high school. She then played all four years in college — on the men’s team.
Here are a few accolades before I introduce you to her:
Alexia was the youngest player on the gold medal-winning U.S. Baseball Women’s National Team in the 2019 Pan-American Championships.
She was the first female baseball player at Division III Saint Elizabeth University — one of only 16 women at the time, in NCAA history, to play college baseball.
She was the second woman ever to start at catcher in college.
Alexia is a baseball player. I asked her the number one question everyone wants to know the answer to: “How are you received by your male teammates when you join a team?” She told me, “I think about 90% of the guys are fine with it. My first year in college was great. I knew 100% of the team had my back. It’s only when the new players joined the team in college, and they didn’t know me, and they didn’t know what I had previously done…”
When it’s time to play ball, she said nothing else matters. “Once I get on the bus or come to the stadium, it’s go-time. I take gender out of it and I’m just one of the guys. I’ve had coaches in the past say things like ‘Ok guys…and girl’ and I tell them they don’t need to do that. Everyone knows I’m here, and I’m not offended. I’d rather they just say ‘guys.’ That helps me be part of team.”
She landed in Holly Springs after playing in a women’s tournament in Durham where she met some of the people in the Holly Springs Salamanders organization. They stayed in touch with her and extended an invitation to play for them.
Playing with the Salamanders this summer is an opportunity for her to learn, as it is for all the college players, and she hopes it will help her to be able to play “indy ball,” ultimately. Indy ball teams are independently owned teams that are not affiliated with MLB. She’s already had some successful tryouts with a few teams. “I’m going to play baseball as long as I can,” she said. “I love the game, and want to play it at the highest level I can, for as long as I can. It would hurt my younger self if I didn’t take this as far as I can.”
Here’s more about Alexia:
Q. How do you feel about being a player that young girls can look up to?
A: I always remember that whenever I have failure on the field, I scan the stands for a young girl and draw inspiration from her, telling myself I have to continue to give it my all for them.
Q. What do you want Holly Springs to know about you that they can’t find online?
A: I’m not here for special treatment. I just love the game, and want to keep playing.
Q.What are your favorite things to do when you’re not playing baseball?
A: I like to read books. I love to work out; it makes me feel great! I play guitar — I’m self taught.
Q. What is your favorite type of music and who is your favorite musician?
A: I like country, and Cody Johnson is my favorite singer.
Q. What’s your favorite sunflower seed?
A: The sweet and spicy ones.
I can’t say enough good things about Alexia and every one of her teammates on the Salamanders team. Every year, these players come from all over the country to play in Holly Springs. To watch them play, you would think they’d been playing together for years, yet they have never been teammates before landing in Holly Springs. These young college students embrace the team and fans as their own, although they are only here for the summer.
If you haven’t been to a game yet, you’re missing out. With a typical ticket price of about $12, it’s a relatively affordable, and definitely enjoyable, way to spend an afternoon or evening. See you at the game!
