HIRAM, Ohio – April 22, 2025 – Tyler Fernandez homered in both games of a doubleheader against Penn State Behrend on Tuesday afternoon, giving him eight home runs for the season and 11 for his Hiram career.

Despite the power-hitting efforts from the junior, Hiram lost both games at Fishel Field, 8-3 and 12-4.

Fernandez was responsible for Hiram's first runs in each of the two games, with a three-run long ball in the first inning of Game 1 and a solo shot in the second inning of Game 2. With 8 home runs this season, he is now tied for the third-most home runs in a single season in program history (Joe Marzano, 11 HR in 2003 | Joe Lisko, 10 HR in 2000).

"I think battling past the back injury I had last year," Fernandez said of his improvement from 2024 to 2025. "I contribute that (improvement) to my hard work in coming back."

Fernandez currently leads the Terriers in triples (two), home runs (eight), RBI (43), total bases (83), slugging percentage (.709) and OPS (1.171) over 29 games this season. The junior is making a strong case for his first career all-conference selection, as evidenced by Penn State Behrend issuing him a pair of intentional walks throughout the two games, too.

"It was cool getting intentionally walked – not once, but twice," Fernandez said.

Hiram also got a pair of solid outings from starters Jacob Koces and Sam Boyle, as the duo each worked five innings against a Penn State Behrend team that has now won 14 games in a row. Each starter surrendered four earned runs to keep their team within striking distance for both contests.

In Game 2, Hiram inserted six new starters into its lineup, a chance to give the depth of the roster a chance to shine at Fishel Field. Eight different players recorded at least one hit in the game, including a two-hit effort from Jimmy Rockow and the first career hit for Max Alexander.

Despite the two losses, Hiram gets a great chance to bounce back on Wednesday, when it hosts Baldwin Wallace at 4 p.m. in Hiram, Ohio.