With four base knocks in Friday’s doubleheader, Doane University junior infielder Justin Nevells of Chugiak became the 13th Alaskan and fifth player from the Anchorage area to record 150 hits at the college level.
The starting third baseman went 2-for-3 in Game 1 and 2-for-4 with a double and RBI in Game 2 to help 14th-ranked Doane sweep a NAIA twin bill from Briar Cliff in Iowa.
Nevells is batting .327 in 36 games this season with 33 hits in 101 at-bats, including 10 doubles, one triple and three home runs. Those 14 extra-base hits have helped the 5-foot-8 slugger raise his slugging percentage 75 points from last year.
Nevells has a career .323 batting average in 464 at-bats and needs 13 hits to catch former Service slugger Aaron Miller for 10th place on Alaska’s all-time college hits list. Miller had 163 hits at Mayville State from 2013 to 2016.
The state record for hits is 251 held by Kenai’s Paul Steffensen, who played at Mesa, Tennessee Tech and St. Cloud State between 2018 and 2022. Ranking second on the list is Fairbanks’ Scooter Bynum (230) while Juneau’s Rob Conway follows closely behind (228).
Nevells has a chance to reach 200 hits and beyond with Doane (28-8) having at least 12 games remaining this season and then all of next year.
Justin Nevells drives the ball during an Alaska Baseball League game. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
His best season came in 2022 when he hit .341 on 57-of-167 hitting in 50 games. Last year he hit .307 in 55 games and set a personal record for single-season hits (58).
Nevells has helped Doane reach the NAIA Championships in each of the last two seasons. In 2022, his RBI double proved to be the game winner in a 3-1 win over No. 14 Vanguard in the first round. That same season he went 6-for-7 against Briar Cliff to equal the single game school record, with his final hit coming in the 11th inning that knocked in the winning run.
