Where Are They Now? All-Star Softball Pitcher Alex Gjevre Nail Now Nearing Earning her PhD in Microbiology
By Mark Maloney, MSUEagles.com
When she was a player, Alex Gjevre was the most dominant pitcher to come through the Morehead State softball program.
Eight years later and married – she's Alex Gjevre Nail now – she's pitching herself, not softballs.
Due to graduate from the University of Kentucky in August with a PhD in microbiology, Nail is in the process of writing her dissertation and setting up job interviews. Her degrees at Morehead came in biology as an undergraduate, followed by a Master's in Science in 2013. She was MSU's Outstanding Student for Science and Technology in 2012-13.
Her collegiate softball career (2007-10) won't soon be forgotten. Her maiden name is plastered all over the Eagles' record book.
She still holds single-season records for wins (25), innings pitched (236.1) and games started (34), and shares the lead in complete games (25). She's fifth or better in most of those same categories, from different seasons, as well as ERA, strikeouts, shutouts, total games and fewest runs allowed.
On Morehead State's career lists, she still ranks No. 1 in wins (70), ERA (1.78), strikeouts (651), appearances (145), starts (114), shutouts (21) and innings pitched (745.1).
She calls her softball career a case of being at the right place at the right time. Specifically, playing for the right team.
"All the right components are there to win," she said. "I couldn't have done it on my own. It was just a perfect mix when I was there. And I had hoped that some of my records, by this time, would have been beaten because I want to continue to see the program excel even long after I'm gone."
Chelsea McManaway is making a dent. Last year, the transfer from Findlay University broke Gjevre's single-season strikeout record of 230, firing 244. McManaway also has a shot at breaking the career ERA record.
Nail says she has been keeping tabs on McManaway and is impressed. They met March 31, when Nail tossed out the ceremonial first pitch and McManaway tossed a two-hit shutout against Tennessee State.
If not for a twist of fate, Nail might have been pitching for Tennessee State eight years ago. The right-hander came to Morehead from Billings West High School in Montana.
A three-sport start, Gjevre gave up basketball after her sophomore year. She also played volleyball but, to the dismay of her coaches, quit that sport after helping her team to a state championship as a junior.
What she wanted was to play Division I softball. But Montana had no such programs at that time and recruiters mostly ignored the state. Gjevre's mother, Nancy Brook, suggested turning to a school counselor for suggestions. In February or March of her senior year – very late for recruiting purposes – Gjevre was provided with a list of Division I softball programs. She e-mailed every single coach in the country – hundreds.
She drew 15 interested responses. Next, she forwarded videos to seven or eight of the interested coaches.
Five remained interested, including Tennessee State.
Gjevre and her mother made a trip to Nashville, inspecting the Tigers' facilities. And that's when Morehead called.
"They said 'hey, we're interested in seeing you.' So my mom said, 'well, they're only four hours away; let's go up there and check it out,'" Gjevre said. "So we went up there and I loved it. The atmosphere. Just everything. I loved the small-town feel, but it was a bigger university. It was a program where I could have a good potential of starting. It all just kind of worked out. I loved the coaches when I came in, especially Coach G (Gina Ramacci)."
Under head coach Jill Karwoski, Gjevre set a school record of 38 appearances and tied a school record with 14 wins her freshman season. When Holly Bruder replaced Karwoski the next season, Gjevre won 17 games and was named the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year. Records continued to take a beating the rest of her career.
But that was then, and Gjevre is Nail now.
Now 30, she is married for former MSU football center Matthew Nail. He earned his undergraduate degree in 2011 and, also at Morehead State, followed with a Master's in Business Administration in 2013. He serves as Business Development Manager for Climate Conditioning, Inc.
As her dissertation indicates, Alex's "game" has changed.
"My lab focus is on liver disease in general," she said. "So my dissertation, really, … I've worked on looking at our 'gene of interest.' It's called CHX 2 and it's a gene that we think is important in liver disease development.
"And then, the other aspect, it's called 'sex-biased genes regulation.' So I look at why males develop cancer more so than females. It's about two-to-three times as likely that a male will develop liver cancer, compared to a female. So, trying to get at the question of why that is and just looking at different factors that might contribute to that."
Nail envisions her next step to be working at a research hospital. She will interview with St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis and hopes to go through a similar process with Cincinnati Children's Hospital. She'd like to work on a post-op trial fellowship for a few years, then perhaps enter the biotech industry. Ten or 15 years down the road, she can see herself opening her own biotech firm.
She'd also like to raise a family. A dream vacation would come down to the I's having it -- Iceland or Ireland are her preferred destinations.
Although she misses Montana, she says it is unlikely that she and her husband would live in that part of the country anytime soon.
"For a person that's young and trying to develop their career, it's a little easier to keep that going more so in cities that are in close proximity to one another, kind of like the East Coast," Nail said. "So that's why I've stayed kind of out this way. We've thought about possibly retiring (in Montana), but that would be many, many years away when we move back."
She would like to see MSU softball games more often and give back to the program.
"My husband and I are looking to make donations specifically to the program," Alex said. "I think, going back down there and seeing games, that kind of hit me on another level. … So we're planning on going back because I had such a good time there."
