Mustang signs to play college baseball for Coastal Bend

• Marble Falls senior Evan Nickowski (center) signs his National Letter of Intent to play baseball for Coastal Bend College. Congratulating him are his parents Jon (left) and Casey Nickowski. Contributed photos

Evan Nickowski signed a National Letter of Intent to play college baseball at Coastal Bend College.

The signing ceremony happened May 8 at Max Copeland Gym.

“I’ve always dreamed of playing baseball be- yond high school," Nic kowski said. “I’ve been working toward this since I started playing. It was a pretty easy decision. I sent film out. They showed interest right away. I went on their campus in September."

He played in an inter- squad scrimmage in front of Coastal Bend coaches.

“They were impressed with how I carried myself on the field," the Mus tang said. “They offered me on the spot. I love the coaches and I love the (Regional XIV Athletic) Conference."

“He likes the oppor- tunity," head coach Tyler Porter said. “He’ll get a chance to play. That’s a big thing."

Nickowski graduates

as a member of an exclu - sive club - the 100 hits club - that is even more special because he battled through adversity.

"I was slumping pretty hard," he said. "I flipped the switch and ended up doing pretty good. I thought I would be able to get that. With four years on varsity baseball, I had a feeling. I’m very blessed to be given the ability."

“Consistency is what it is," Porter said. "I grad - uated from Fort Bend El kins. We were the No. 2 team in country. They won a national title the year after I graduated.

That program, with all its history, only has eight kids with 100 hits. It's consistency over time."

Nickowski will be an outfielder in college and was a pitcher in high school.

“I love playing in the outfield," he said. "Peo ple wonder why I enjoy it. They say you're out there doing nothing. You have a pretty simple sample size to make plays. Making those plays is worth it. I love showing my speed and tracking down balls. I let my athleticism be on display in the outfield."

"I think he's underrat - ed defensively because you get spoiled by watch - ing it," Porter said. "He caught balls most can't catch. He made hard catches look easy. He covered a lot of ground. I wouldn't be shocked if they put him on the mound a little bit."

Joining the Coastal Bend baseball team re- unites Nickowski with former teammate Brady Elwartowski.

The coach said the program will miss Nickowski for several reasons.

“I think we’ll miss the consistency and leader- ship," he said. "When he was there, he performed. He’s going to lead kids the right way."

The player said being a Mustang taught him to stay even keeled, no matter what was happening.

“Don’t dwell on the negatives and don’t dwell on the positives, too," he said. “I love the team and the friendships. We didn't have the best run my freshman or sophomore years. Last year was the best year. We won district. I went day by day by day this year."

The son of Jon and Casey Nickowski plans to major in business management and wants to earn a scholarship to play Division I baseball.

“I need to perform then get good grades and get a good GPA and transfer to a big school," he said.

Jennifer Fierro publishes reports about area youth athletic events on her website TexasChalk-Talk.com. To send her a note, email fierrojenni fer@yahoo.com.