May 9, 2026 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

Luke Alvarez’s development into a power hitter is quickly becoming the stuff of legend in Washington & Jefferson’s baseball program.

As a high school player in the WPIAL at Elizabeth Forward, Alvarez hit all of one home run. He didn’t seem to have the makings of a future feared slugger.

In his first three seasons at W&J, Alvarez, who is the Presidents’ starting catcher, hit only four home runs in 113 at-bats.

So nobody expected what is happening this season.

Alvarez didn’t hit his first round-tripper of 2026 until April 4, but since then he’s been on a hitting tear the likes of which has never been seen at W&J. In April, Alvarez had 19 hits, of which 11 were home runs.

Alvarez’s power surge continued Saturday in the Presidents’ biggest game of the season. He hit two home runs, including a tiebreaking three-run shot in the fifth inning, sending W&J to an 11-2 victory over Grove City in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament championship game at Ross Memorial Park.

The title is the 17th in school history and sixth in the last seven years. Last season, Grove City ended a streak of five consecutive championships won by the Presidents.

W&J (32-11) advances to the NCAA Division III tournament that begins Friday at regional sites. Pairings will be released Monday afternoon.

Alvarez finished with five RBI and his school record 15th and 16th home runs of the season en route to being named the tournament’s outstanding player.

“I’ve always had the power,” Alvarez said. “I attribute (the spike in home runs) to being a better hitter overall. I’ve been able to find my pitch and know my zone better than in the past. It’s just about getting my swing off on the pitch that I want, getting my hands extended and driving the baseball wherever I want.

“My whole life I’ve been a real streaky hitter. Whenever I’m seeing the ball well, I’m hitting barrels.”

The baseball must look like it’s the size of a beach ball to Alvarez these days, especially in the fifth inning against Grove City.

The Wolverines (22-18) scored in the top of the first inning and led 1-0 in the fifth when W&J finally broke through against reliever Graham Romer, scoring four times.

Grove City was actually inches away from retiring W&J in order in the fifth. Seth Rosenfeld led off with a deep drive into the right centerfield gap. Grove City right fielder Caleb Backos made a long run and the ball landed just beyond his extended reach and bounced over the wall for a book-rule double.

“That ball was almost caught. It was close,” said W&J head coach Jeff Mountain.

After a foul out, W&J’s Teddy Platt hit a liner that Grove City second baseman Nick Sampson – Platt’s teammate in high school at Peters Township – tried to leap and catch but the ball glanced off the top of his glove for a single as Rosenfeld stopped at third base.

Josh Dezenzo then hit a sacrifice fly that scored Rosenfeld and tied the score at 1-1. That brought up Alvarez, who hit a high drive over the wall in center field for a three-run homer that gave W&J a 4-1 lead and the momentum, which it kept the rest of the way.

W&J tacked on four more runs in the sixth, which included RBI singles by Rosenfeld and Dezenzo.

Dezenzo and Alvarez, the Nos. 2 and 3 hitters in the W&J lineup, combined for seven RBI.

“What a year those guys have had,” Mountain said. “They showed up again.”

W&J first baseman Jack Anderson hit a solo home run in the seventh inning and Alvarez capped his big day with a two-run homer in the eighth.

“I didn’t think either of those were gone,” Alvarez admitted. “I didn’t hit either of them very well. I didn’t get all of them, but I got enough of them.”

Mountain, however, didn’t have doubts.

“When he hits them, they’re majestic,” he said.

W&J pitchers Brady Dojonovic and Bobby Budacki (4-3) were stellar, combining on a seven-hitter. They did not issue a walk. Budacki allowed one unearned) run over six innings of relief.

Perhaps the best news for W&J is its pitching staff wasn’t stretched thin. No Presidents pitcher threw in more than one game.

“There are even a couple of guys we didn’t pitch who we have confidence in,” Mountain said.