Louisville Slugger arrives on the Cape

10 July 2007


 

 
By MARK A BROWN

    Harwich Mariners third baseman Chris Dominguez missed the first week of Cape League action, but he had a good excuse.

    He spent the week in Omaha, Nebraska, as his Louisville Cardinals became the darlings of Rosenblatt Stadium. Thanks in large part to his booming bat, the Cardinals shocked the pundits by advancing to the national semifinal game at the College World Series.

    Despite bowing out with a 3-1 loss to North Carolina, the collegiate season certainly finished on a high note for Dominguez. “I struggled a lot early in the season, but I kept trying to work things out,” said the redshirt freshman, who missed nearly the entire 2006 college season with a broken left arm.

    An aggressive swinger, he broke a dubious school record this year with 84 strikeouts, eclipsing the previous mark of 64 set by Isiah Howes in 2004.

    However Dominguez seems to be putting it all together of late. He blasted eight home runs in Louisville’s last nine games – all NCAA tournament contests – and now he appears poised to carry over that success with the Mariners.

    Saturday afternoon at Brewster the 6-4, 240-pounder displayed his power before nearly 1,000 fans, clobbering a first-pitch fastball from Whitecaps starter Mike Colle over the 375-foot mark in left-center field for a two-run shot. It was his first CCBL homer.

    Clutch home runs have become a calling card for Dominquez over the past month. At the NCAA Regionals on June 3, his two-run shot in the fifth proved to be the game-winner against #28 Miami as Louisville eliminated the Hurricanes. Later that same day, with the Cardinals facing elimination themselves against the 11th-ranked host Missouri Tigers, he launched another two-run tater in the eighth to break a 5-5 tie and force a deciding rematch.

    Missouri pitchers will probably be having nightmares about Dominguez for months to come. The Miami native hit a first-inning grand slam and a third inning 3-run shot to earn Regional MVP honors and propel Louisville to the Super Regionals.

    The win provided some redemption for Dominquez, who also pitched for Louisville as a reliever this season. He had come on in the ninth inning of their opening game against Missouri, which the Cardinals trailed 5-4, but allowed a pair of insurance runs on two hits, a walk, and a hit batsmen.

    In Game 1 against Oklahoma State, he nailed a solo shot in the fourth inning after falling behind 0-2 in the count. It was his seventh home run in 11 games.

    After dispatching the Cowboys and earning a trip to Omaha, Louisville dropped their College World Series opener to Rice, but not before Dominguez sent a first-pitch fastball over the fence in the third inning. With the Cardinals squaring off against Mississippi State in an elimination game, Chris again played long ball with a pair of home runs in Louisville’s 12-4 win.

    “We had such a great season,” Dominguez said. “Nobody expected us to make it that far.”

    Despite his imposing size, Dominguez exhibits surprising speed, quickness and agility typically seen in shorter players with more wiry builds. In his first at-bat against Brewster Saturday, he drilled a hard grounder up the middle for a hit, but turned on the jets rounding first base and legged out a double. He then tagged up and sprinted to third on a fly ball to right field.

    His ability to pitch comes as no surprise to anyone who’s seen the gun Dominguez displays while fielding third base. Coming out of high school, Chris was the top-ranked third base prospect in the nation by Baseball America, which also ranked him 11th overall.

    Yet despite coming from the baseball hotbed of Florida, Dominguez chose to attend college at a school better known for producing basketball talent such as Wes Unseld, Darrell Griffith, and Pervis Ellison, and football stars like Johnny Unitas and Bruce Armstrong than for the smattering of major leaguers who wore Cardinal red. “They just wanted me the most,” he said of his recruitment by former head coach Lelo Prado. “I really love it there.”

    Nevertheless, Miami roots run deep for Chris, who wears an irrepressibly broad grin and is proud of his Cuban heritage. His parents, Lazaro and Maria Dominguez, both immigrated to the US as children. Chris has an older brother, also named Lazaro,. “He’s my best friend,” Chris said.

    In fact, Chris listed his brother, along with Cuban actress Vida Guerra and Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, as the three people he would most want to have dinner with.

    Chris is no stranger to playing summer baseball on the New England coast. After redshirting in 2006, Dominguez played that summer for the Newport (Rhode Island) Gulls in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He led the circuit with 11 home runs – more than the totals of four NECBL teams.

    This summer, as Harwich Coach Steve Englert looks to keep as many power bats in the lineup as possible, Chris is diversifying even more by playing some outfield. During fielding drills Saturday, he ranged easily and tracked down balls, which were hit purposely from the left field line to test his ability to cope with a strong afternoon sun. He started in left field versus Brewster.

    Still, Dominguez said if he had to choose fielding just one position, he would prefer the hot corner. “You always have to be alert for balls hit hard down the line, and you have to make strong throws,” he said. “You’re always in the game.”

    Regardless of where he is in the field, opponents will have to contend carefully with Dominguez whenever he carries his big stick to the plate.
 


 


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