Today our recurring coverage of the National Pro Fastpitch 2015 champion Chicago Bandits takes us to Natalie Hernandez. The third year infielder is having a breakout season.
Natalie had an excellent career at Illinois-Chicago. When she earned her Bandits roster spot via an open tryout, Nat became only the second UIC player to play professionally.
In her first two seasons, Nat showed her versatility by playing several positions. She batted .204 and .205 in her first two seasons. In 2014, she had a quality at bat percentage of 44%. In 2015, she lead all backups with eleven hits off the bench. These stats poited to success.
In 2016, Natalie has really emerged. She already has surpassed all of her previous season highs, while cutting down her strikeouts. At the time of this writing, Natalie was hitting above .300.
We talked to Natalie about her emergence this season. Her answer is simple, humble and even funny. It speaks of the type of player and person Natalie is. We also talked about winning the 2015 NPF title, the fans and more.
Natalie is another great example of one of the strengths of the Bandits. The organization does an outstanding job siging players through tryouts and developing them. Obviously, they pick talented players, but they also seek quality people. Natalie fits both categories.
While the 2016 Bandits try to gel together and consistently win, Natalie is growing into one of the leaders right before our eyes. She's a pleasure to watch and to know.
For more info on Natalie and the rest of the Bandits, check out ChicagoBandits.com. Also, check back here for our recurring coverage of the always entertaining Chicago Bandits!
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