Brick's Alvarez off to a fast start for Hawks
BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer

Nichole Alvarez is finding softball far different at Monmouth University from when she was in high school at Brick Township.

"Everybody is really good. It's a huge step up from high school," said Alvarez.

Alvarez has adjusted in that regard, and also to playing in center field after playing only three games at that spot in high school. She spent her career at shortstop and played at first base in her final season. But she played in center field last summer for the powerful club team RKE Jaxx with her former high school teammate - Christina Rodriguez, who is playing at Drexel.

"I didn't expect to start but I knew I'd be playing in center field because the only center fielder they had at Monmouth last season was a senior, and anybody else who played there was a kind of utility outfielder who moved over, not really a [pure] center fielder," said Alvarez. "I feel very comfortable there. I'm seeing the ball well."

Along with playing errorless defense with 24 putouts going into last weekend's action, Alvarez also is hitting consistently well with a .333 batting average, three doubles and two of the team's seven triples. Although she has shown good power at times, it's Alvarez's speed that has dictated her leadoff spot in the batting order. An outstanding sprinter for the indoor track & field team at Brick Township, Alvarez was a meet of champions qualifier in the 100. And that speed has led to her success in all six stolen base attempts.

"They asked me to run track [indoors at Monmouth], but I hurt my shoulder playing fall ball and I had to knuckle down with softball," said Alvarez, who said she still is rehabbing her shoulder.

It certainly has not affected the impressive consistency of hitting for Alvarez, one of the top hitters in the Shore Conference last season, and also one of the leaders in stolen bases, but who says she now faces really tough pitching every game.

"Pitching is definitely a lot quicker with more movement on the ball," said Alvarez. "There are more junk pitches with risers and drops, and there's a lot more speed. But I'm making contact."

Monmouth is 9-8 and snapped a three-game losing streak on Saturday in a doubleheader split with Columbia as it prepares to play in the Northeast Conference.

"Being a freshman, I was really nervous but the other players made things easier for me," she said. "Training and practices are different. Everything is more intense and there's a lot of work on agility. Nothing in high school compares."

And that includes getting up early for 6 a.m. practices over the first few weeks of preseason. But one thing that has helped Alvarez that she has carried over from high school is playing under pressure after she sparked the Green Dragons last season to NJSIAA and Shore Conference berths in a 14-13 season after a 1-6 start.

She said that she hopes to stop by and see her high school teammates play this season in what looks like a very strong season when her hectic schedule slows down. Alvarez has stayed in touch with one of her former teammates, Joey Afflito, to keep tabs on how things are going. For now, she is enjoying her college experience.

"This is a good team at Monmouth," she said. "Nothing is too shabby here."