Chris Nieves makes the pitch, Fairfield University makes the offer - M-W lefthander wins Division I baseball scholarship

Central Valley - Last Monday night, Monroe-Woodbury baseball coach Andy Sager was out celebrating his 33rd birthday. But he’ll tell you the real party for the Crusaders’ baseball program belongs to the Chris Nieves and his family as Nieves became the first player under Sager to win a Division I baseball scholarship. Nieves, a hard-throwing lefty, has signed a national letter of intent to play for Fairfield University, which plays in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference against such schools as Marist, Iona and Siena. He chose Fairfield because it only has about 3,000 students and a business program that ranks in the top 15 nationwide. “I just felt it was the right school for me,” Nieves said. “The MAAC is a great conference and it’s just a good fit.” Added his coach: “He takes school very seriously. He’s a great athlete and an even better young man.” A recent showcase in Florida sealed Nieves’ fate. In the Perfect Game Tournament, he won game three for the Long Island Titans against Team America, a club of all-stars that features players who are going to schools like Miami and Arizona. “You have all these top prospects who are going to tier one schools and here is a little 5-foot-11 kid from Monroe who is shutting them down,” said his father, Victor Nieves. “It’s just crazy.” The father was instrumental in marketing Chris, who had 34 offers on the table. “The program in Monroe has a long way to go,” said Victor Nieves. “If you want to get exposure, you have to get out of Orange County. The scouts just don’t come up here.” “I had to take the intuitive to be seen by different scouts,” said Chris Nieves. “The program here is on it’s way up and maybe with me playing college baseball, it will continue to get better.” There were more than 200 college scouts at the Perfect Game Tournament. “He throws very hard for a lefty,” said Sager. “The kid is willing to learn and that is important. He is very coachable.” In two seasons on the hill for Monroe-Woodbury, Nieves hasn’t setting any records for wins; the team’s overall record during that span has been 14-31. “Stats don’t show off his ability,” Sager said. “We made so many errors behind him it’s not even fair to talk about them.” Nieves was 3-4 last year with a 2.63 earned run average. He struck out 43 hitters. After dealing with his fastball that tops out around 90 mph, if you get on base it’s time to deal with his biggest weapon - his pick off move. “He can get anybody and anytime,” said Sager. “He has an Andy Pettitte-like move.”