Alvarez puts another fine season in books

BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer

MONMOUTH ATHLETICS BrickTownship graduate Nichole Alvarez put together a stellar season for the Monmouth University Hawks this spring, earning First Team All-Conference honors for the second straight year. Nichole Alvarez of Brick talks modestly about her season, but her skills were not lost on the Northeast Conference, which named the sophomore to the First Team All-Conference for the second straight year.

"I did all right, better than last year," said Alvarez, a 20-year-old majoring in communications.

That seemed especially evident in stolen bases, where the former NJSIAA Meet of Champions indoors sprinter at Brick Township went from 17-for-17 in stolen bases in her freshman year to an astounding 41-for-43 batting third in the lineup.

Her efforts at the plate and in center field, where she used quickness to her best advantage, earned her selection as NEC Conference Player of the Week twice and helped the Hawks reach the NEC Tournament, where they lost in the semifinals to Wagner. Monmouth, with six players selected to the All-NEC first team, finished 30-18.

"In the beginning of the season, we played in Florida and broke out of a slump, and from there, I knew we were going to be good," said Alvarez.

The team won seven of nine games leading up to the NEC Tournament and Alvarez was ready for the challenges with a year's experience behind her.

"I knew what to expect," said Alvarez. "It was a huge change from high school and what I needed to work on."

Alvarez was a .500 hitter in each of her last three seasons at Brick Township after hitting .483 as a freshman, topped by a .583 average as a senior who played at shortstop as the Green Dragons made the NJSIAA and Shore Conference tournaments.

"My bat, stolen bases and fielding improved a little," said Alvarez. "My defense went fine."

Statistics prove it. Alvarez this season batted .400 after hitting .375 last season. Her slugging percentage of .529 was a big jump from the .410 last season.

"I got used to the college level," said Alvarez. "Everything comes at you faster and harder than high school, and I got used to it."

Defensively, she had 78 put-outs with four assists and four errors this season.

And she made an impact on her first collegiate appearance last season when she hit 3-for-4, including a double, with two RBIs, and was 3-for-3 in stolen bases and, like this season, was NEC Player of the Week twice.

Alvarez, who is playing for the club team the Fuse this summer, played previously for RKE Jaxx, where she roamed in center field.

It will help her prepare for next season when the team must find replacements for four graduated players, including two pitchers, the shortstop and an outfielder.

Notes... Alvarez was not the only Hawk to receive some postseason recognition. Monmouth senior Heather Gordon (Hatboro, Pa./Mount St. Joseph's) has been named to the 2007 All-Northeast Region First Team, the first time ever the Hawks softball program has landed someone on the first team. Also honored was sophomore pitcher Kristine Sawlsville (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson), who was named to the second-team all-region squad.

Sawlsville is the first Hawk pitcher to be named to the All-Northeast Region team, and she enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in 2007, posting a 17-7 record.