Jocelyn Alo proves she’s HR queen with walk-off HRDX win

NASHVILLE, Tenn — The clock was ticking down in the finals at HRDX: Nashville and the Sounds were trailing. As the clock approached 30 seconds, it was do or die. So, Jocelyn Alo tagged herself in for the end of local star Kyle Bowers’ at-bat. It was going to be tight, but if anyone could do it, it would be the former Oklahoma Sooners star who holds the all-time NCAA HR record among both men and women.

With ferocious swings that cut through the darkening Nashville sky, Alo did it: The HR queen proved why she’s the greatest of all-time, giving the Sounds a 55-54 walk-off win against the Hot Chickens, led by former Yankees slugger Nick Swisher and USWNT star Alex Hugo.

“The only thing I was thinking was ‘Hit it as far as I can,” Alo said, the sweat still fresh on her game uniform on the muggy night. “It was just ‘Hit it as far as I can, as far as I can, as far as I can.'”

Alo, who hit 18 home runs in her two rounds before stepping in for the final 30 seconds, is a consummate competitor who seems to live for moments like this.

“I had a lot of fun, and it’s really awesome to see women succeed in this situation,” Alo said, a smile on her face. “It’s crazy hearing people cheering our names, but I’m just so grateful for this Home Run Derby X community, because they’ve really built a family here, and I feel just at home.”

This was the third stop of the Home Run Derby X tour this year, which pits four teams of three against each other in a modified home run derby that features bonus points for target hits and hot streak hits, as well as awarding the defense points for balls they are able to catch (click here for the HRDX FAQ). At the home of the Nashville Sounds on Saturday night, the four teams each donned the mantle of one of the Sounds’ alternate identities with the Sounds, Hot Chicken, Hit City, and the Brewskis facing off.

Each team also consists of a former Major League star, a women’s baseball or softball standout and a local ballplayer. For the Sounds, that player was Bowers, who was named to his high school’s Hall of Fame earlier this year. They may need to update the plaque now.

“It’s an emotional night. I’ve got my family here. A lot of support. Man, what a blessing,” Bowers said, struggling to hold back tears after spending nearly 30 minutes postgame signing autographs for eager children who looked up to him as a hero. “It’s really special to see how many people that love you and care about you. It’s really crazy”

A season ticket holder for the Sounds as well, Bowers now got to show off his skills on the same field he’s usually at as a spectator.

After hitting six home runs in the first game, Bowers started strong in the final. But as the clock wound down below a minute, the fatigue set in as he tried to erase the deficit against the Hot Chicken.

“I was getting tired and I’m glad that Jocelyn, being the leader that she is, I could hear yelling, ‘Hey, let’s tag in,” Bowers said. “[I told her] ‘Give me one more’ and I hit one more. When she got in there with 30 seconds left, she won it for us.”

It was the first time in HRDX history that one of the women’s players tagged in — all the more remarkable because that meant Manny Ramirez and his career 555 MLB home runs were left on the sidelines.

“She’s awesome,” Ramirez said about Alo. “She’s unbelievable. I was so excited to see her. I love her mechanics, and I’m just happy she was on my team.”

“What a finish! See, that’s where Home Run Derby X comes into play, Jocelyn just putting the team on her back at the end absolutely doing what she’s doing,” an even more enthusiastic than usual Swisher said, his special orange-for-HRDX beaded necklace glimmering in the stadium lights. “That’s what makes this game great, the fact that you can tag in when you get gassed. We knew the rookie was gassed. We knew he had nothing left in the tank, and he called in Jocelyn. You had Manny Ramirez sitting out with 555 homers, but he chose to go with Jocelyn. She won the game. Brother, what a finish. Can’t even get mad we lost.”

While Swisher got in the zone, sending dozens of towering fly balls into the Nashville outfield, the Hot Chicken made it to the final thanks to another local player: Bailey Holbrook. Holbrook, who had pitched in the Big League World Series championship game as a teenager, scored a best-in-the-event 21 points in the first round to bring the Hot Chicken back against former Braves great Andruw Jones and Ole Miss softball transfer Ashton Lansdell’s Hit City.

“I’m not gonna lie, that first round, I don’t really remember much. I kind of blacked out,” Holbrook said. “So, the second round, I tried to soak it in a little more, maybe soaked in a little bit too much, took up a little too much time. But getting to hit with all these guys was awesome. My family’s here and to walk away with the MVP? It’s crazy.”

Holbrook was wearing No. 17 to honor his friend, Ryan Teixeira, who passed away in 2017 after a battle with a rare form of cancer known as Ewing sarcoma. Holbrook reached out to Teixeira’s family to get their approval to wear his number and honor his legacy.

“While he was sick, most people kind of get a little down there, you know, not really looking at bright things,” Holbrook said. “Ryan started his own nonprofit while he was battling cancer, and just on and off the field, man, he was just a pleasure to be around.”

Strangely enough, when Holbrook came to the plate in that first semifinal, the number of points his team were trailing by? 17.

“I shot his mom a text, and I told her, ‘I don’t know if God and Ryan were with me tonight, but it was definitely a sign,” Holbrook said.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the first two matches:

Hit City 54
Hot Chickens 56

While Holbrook may have stolen the show in this first round, Ashton Lansdell put up a statement performance of her own. When not entertaining the crowd by hitting and fielding in a cowboy hat or fooling around with the fans in the stands, Lansdell put up 20 points and displayed strong defense in the outfield.

Ramirez may have led the Sounds with 17 points in the victory, but former Pirates and Brewers third baseman Pedro Alvarez added 16 of his own — including a diving catch to rob a point from Ramirez.

Softball star and reigning Athletes Unlimited MVP Amanda Lorenz also led the way with 20 points in the round, even if it wasn’t enough for victory.