Austin Hedges finally found some space Monday.

After a few hard-hit balls found gloves, especially recently, Hedges connected on a ball that left his bat at 100.5 mph and got down in time to skip off the grass and into the glove of diving Rockies center fielder Ian Desmond for a 310-foot single.

“Off the bat, I was like, ‘He’s catching that ball,’ ” Hedges said. “Even when he caught the short-hop, I was like, ‘That’s how it’s going.’ ”

Maybe that long single broke the magnetic pull of balls Hedges has hit traveling directly to fielders.


His next time up, in the ninth inning of the Padres’ 5-2 loss, Hedges lined the ninth pitch he saw past third base and just inside the foul line for a double.

Hedges’ 42.9 percent hard-hit rate is fifth highest on the team, ahead of Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., whose batting averages are significantly higher than Hedges’ .200 clip. Of the last 16 balls Hedges has put in play, nine have had an exit velocity of 97.1 mph or higher.

While he does have the third-highest strikeout rate on the team, Hedges is also seeing 4.21 pitches per plate appearance over his past 28 times to bat, second-most on the team in that span.

“I feel like I’ve made some nice adjustments,” Hedges said. “I’ve battled. I’m swinging at good pitches. I feel like I’m a hard out right now. That’s all I want to do. (Monday) was a big day, to turn 0-for-2 into a 2-for-4. I think that’s really hard to do, to stay locked in.”


On Wednesday night, on the Padres’ first day since April 4 without a game, Hedges will honor the man he credits with having guided him through the many ups and down that come with figuring out how to be a major league hitter. At the Coaching Corps Game Changer Awards at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar, Hedges will join other local professional athletes in honoring coaches who have influenced them.

“Literally a lifelong commitment to me,” Hedges said of Joe DeMarco. “He’s been there from the get-go.”

DeMarco, who runs Elite Baseball in Orange County, has worked with Hedges since he was 9-years-old. Hedges credits DeMarco with essentially saving his baseball career after a freshman season at JSerra High in San Juan Capistrano in which Hedges didn’t do very well — and at many points along the way.

“He’s there whenever I need,” Hedges said. “He’s a voice I can call. Whenever he talks to me, it’s very comforting. It’s a familiar voice I can call and he gets me right. He knows what makes me tick. He’s been there for the offensive journey I’ve been on my whole life.”


“He just understands me,” Hedges said. “He knows how I work. He’s one of my best friends.”

Also participating on Wednesday night are former Chargers Pro Bowl center Nick Hardwick, San Pasqual High alum and World Cup champion Shannon MacMillan and longtime San Diego resident and two-time Ironman champion Scott Tinley. Hardwick will honor his high school wrestling coach, Royce Deckard. MacMillan will posthumously honor former University of Portland and U.S. Women’s Olympic soccer team coach Clive Carles. Tinley will honor Gene Lamke, Professor Emeritus at San Diego State.