Hackenberg Hopes To Bring Some Pop To Tigers Lineup

Entering his second season, Adam Hackenberg is looking to take on a more prominent role for the Tigers, and hopes to bring some power to the middle of the lineup

During his freshman season, catcher Adam Hackenberg spent much of the year watching from the dugout. Serving as the backup to Kyle Wilkie, one of the teams better hitters, Hackenberg soaked up as much as he possibly could and enjoyed learning from from someone he considers his mentor.

"Kyle, I mean, he taught me a lot just from an approach at the plate," Hackenberg said. "How to manage a game back there, and how to be the leader each pitch during a game. So, having him as a mentor my first year was ... I couldn’t have asked for a better situation than that."  

Hackenberg, a sophomore out of Virginia, didn't spend the entire season watching however, appearing in 21 games and getting nine starts in relief of Wilkie. In 35 at bats, he hit three homeruns, had two doubles, and 10 RBI. Although he hit just .143, Hackenberg showed flashes of having that big bat the Tigers need in the middle of the lineup in 2020. 

With players like Logan Davidson, Grayson Byrd, and the aforementioned Wilkie now gone, Monte Lee will need some fresh faces to step in and make up for some of that lost power in the middle of the order. Hackenberg thinks he and some of the younger players are capable of helping to fill that void.

"Yeah," Hackenberg said. "I mean, obviously with Wilkie and Logan, and Birdie leaving, I mean, it’s a big hit for anybody, not just our program. But it’s our job as younger guys to have been preparing ourselves to fill those roles, so everybody’s showing up every day and competing their butts off trying to fill those roles, obviously."

Hackenberg knows that if he wants to be the teams everyday catcher, he is going to have to earn it in practice. Redshirt sophomore Drew Donathan, back after missing all of 2019 injured, and highly touted freshman Jonathan French are both competing for the job as well, and Hackenberg knows there are no days off.

"We got to earn our spot every day here," Hackenberg said. "We’re going to be competing for the spot all the way up to Opening Day. French coming in, French is a stud. We got Drew Donovan as well. But yeah, as for now, the starting jobs up for me, French and Don I believe. And yeah, I mean, we’re competing for that spot every day."

Hackenberg is not shying away from the competition. In fact, being pushed helps make him a better player, and being pushed by two guys makes the battle that much more fierce. 

"Every day I walk in this building, I’m trying to get better," Hackenberg said. "I’m trying to make my teammates better and having two guys that are really good back there is always going to push me even more than I want to push myself. So it’s been awesome."

To be the player he wants to be, and to help his team the way thinks he can, Hackenberg knows he needs to improve upon what he did at the plate in 2019. Cutting down on the strike outs, and getting the average up are two things that he knows he can do, and he has been putting in the work all off-season to ensure that happens. 

"I hope so," Hackenberg said. "We’ll see how it goes. I’ve been just working on my swing, working on my mechanics, my approach, everything, every day. Get in here early, stay late, and hopefully I can make an impact one way or another with the bat."