BRIDGEPORT—For the first 72 games of her collegiate career, Brooklyn Cividanes’ name was jotted down on the line-up card by her head coach at American International College.
In other words, every time the Yellow Jackets played a game, Cividanes was on the field, and most of the time she was behind the plate.
“She’s arguably the most talented player on our team,” said AIC head coach Shalise Tolentino. “She can swing like crazy. She’ll hit home runs. She’ll drop bunts. She’ll steal bases. She commands the game behind the plate. I honestly don’t think there’s a better catcher in the NE10.”
In her very first game as a college player, back in her freshman season in the spring of 2024, Tolentino put Cividanes’ name into the No. 8 slot of her lineup.
After grounding out to second base and striking out looking in her first two at-bats, Cividanes—who one year earlier had been playing high school softball at Platt in Meredin—delivered her first collegiate hit.
It was the first of the 60 hits she would record in her career, which has seen her belt eight home runs, nine doubles, and a triple while recording 39 RBIs.
So far.
The last time she saw the field, back on March 10, Cividanes was hitting third and, of course, had a hit in her team’s 7-3 win over Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.
Since that game, however, Cividanes has been sidelined by a mild concussion. It has kept her out of the last four AIC contests, including this past weekend’s twinbill at the University of Bridgeport at Seaside Park.
“It was such a freak thing,” said Tolentino, referring to the injury which occurred in AIC’s final game of its Florida trip. “I think we took the lead against a really good team, and it was a celebration thing. She accidentally took an elbow to her cheek, and she got a slight concussion. It’s nothing major. But you obviously have to be really cautious about that. So, we shut her down. She’ll be back for our league opener.”
For the player who always plays—day in, day out—it hasn’t been an easy week.
But Cividanes knows the team comes first, so she’s been trying to be there for her teammates anyway that she can.
“I mean it’s tough, but I think I still allow myself to be there for my team, even though I’m not physically on the field,” said Cividanes. “I think in the dugout, I just do my part by cheering, being there for my teammates. So, I mean it’s a loss for me physically, but mentally, I don’t think it take myself out of the game, ever.”
She’s been like that for as long as she laced up her cleats, strapped down her batting gloves and stepped between the baselines.
At Platt, Cividanes simply dominated the field.
“She’s just a great ballplayer,” said Platt coach Jen Duell. “She’s a great kid and she made an impact on our program from day one.”
She missed her freshman high school season due to COVID, but that just allowed Cividanes a chance to work on her craft.
Her sophomore season, her first as a varsity player, she went out and hit .562.
“As soon as she joined us, her impact was crazy,” Duell said.
The same could be said for her arrival at AIC.
Her freshman year up at the Springfield, Mass., school, the first-year Yellow Jacket led the team in hitting, raking at a .345 clip with a slugging percentage of .536 and an on-base percentage of .509 thanks to a whopping 27 walks.
“She was ranked 11th in the country in on-base percentage,” Tolentino reported. “She’s always been a tough out.”
If there is one person who hasn’t been shocked by her success, be it in high school or at the college level, it is Cividanes.
“I mean, surprising, yes, but also I think I knew my ability because of what I did in travel and in high school,” said Cividanes, who played her travel ball with the CT Shock. “I just think the variety of people I played with allowed me to build that skill, so I think when I got to college, I was comfortable with that environment. I think I was kind of mentally prepared for it would be like.”
Cividanes said she’s successful at the plate because she’s prepared.
“I just think I’m disciplined,” she said. “I think I have a plan when I get up to the plate. I know what to expect from a lot of pitchers when it comes to scouting, and I just try to go up there wanting to do something for my team.”
Cividanes is a certified power hitter and can certainly crush a ball as her extra base totals have proven.
But the game is about more than that and she knows it.
“I’m not just like how hard can I hit the ball?” she said. “Obviously that’s a plus, but it’s what can I do to produce for the team?”
The first thing she needs to do is get back on the field.
As Tolentino said, that should be this week as AIC, which is 3-7 this season, starts to get ready to open NE-10 play with a road trip to Adelphi University next weekend.
The Yellow Jackets will then be back in Connecticut on Wednesday, March 25, when AIC plays in Waterbury at Post University.
What goals does Cividanes have for her return and the rest of her career?
“Hopefully, stay healthy,” she said. “I’ve had a couple of injuries I’ve dealt with, and it’s been tough, but I just want to stay consistent for my team and just be myself and continue to do what I do best.”
Since graduating from Platt and joining AIC, Cividanes has found a new home with the Yellow Jackets.
That, too, is something she holds dear, and makes it tough to sit out a few games.
“It’s very special,” she said. “Honestly, even in times when things are tough, especially being out, I still know I have people there to back me up. It’s nice to know you have that community that we’ve built over the last few years. Since I was a freshman, it’s just every year it just seems to get better.”
So too has Cividanes’ play.
Through the first six games she played this season, she as hitting a career-high .385 with two home runs and four RBIs. Her slugging percentage is a whopping .700.
Once she’s back on the field, expect a lot more great things from Brooklyn Cividanes in the batter’s box, behind the plate and in the dugout.
(From The Dugout is a regular column written by CT Softball Blog Publisher John Nash)
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