Dominguez Named 2008 BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year

May 19, 2008

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Third baseman Chris Dominguez was named BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year and was one of seven University of Louisville baseball players honored at the BIG EAST Championship banquet Tuesday night.

Dominguez, the only unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team was joined by senior catcher Derrick Alfonso and sophomore pitcher Justin Marks on the first team. Sophomore first baseman Andrew Clark made the second team and senior closer B.J. Rosenberg, senior second baseman Justin McClanahan and freshman outfielder Stewart Ijames made the third team.

Dominguez hit .363 with a league-leading 18 home runs, driving in 65. He enters the postseason as the league leader in total bases (151) and is 10th in the BIG EAST in batting, second in slugging (.677) and RBI, third in runs (60) and fifth in hits (81).

Alfonso, also a preseason selection, missed 24 games with a broken hand, but managed to throw out an astonishing 20 of 32 potential baserunners. He hit .275 with four doubles and three home runs, driving in 11 runs in 24 starts. He did not commit an error in the field, handling 214 total chances flawlessly.

Alfonso was named to the third team following his sophomore campaign and was a second team selection last season.

Marks, the 2007 Freshman of the Year, posted a 7-1 record with a league-low 2.08 ERA, limiting opponents to a .212 batting average, good for third in the BIG EAST. Marks was 5-1 with a 2.44 ERA in league play. He had been selected to the All-BIG EAST second team in 2007.

Clark started 54 games at first and hit .316 during the regular season with 12 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 42 RBI, walking a team-high 27 times.

Rosenberg logged eight saves, with five of those coming in league games, second in the BIG EAST.

McClanahan belted a league-leading 21 doubles, also pacing the conference with 13 in league play. He hit .351 with eight home runs and 44 RBI, scoring 55 times and stealing 15 bases in 19 attempts.

Ijames batted .343 overall with seven doubles, six home runs and 30 RBI in 38 starts. His .386 average in BIG EAST play was tops on the team and his .686 slugging lead the BIG EAST.

Louisville (37-19, 16-11 BIG EAST) is the four-seed in the eight-team double elimination tournament and will face fifth-seeded Seton Hall Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. in the first game of the tournament. The Pirates (30-23, 15-12 BIG EAST) and Cardinals did not meet during the regular season. The Cards have swept all six previous games against the Pirates.

St. John's drew the top seed in the eight-team double elimination championship and will share the Cardinals half of the bracket facing Villanova in the 1:00 game Tuesday, while runner-up UC will face seven seed West Virginia at 5:00 p.m. third seed Notre Dame will meet #6 seed USF in the 8:00 p.m. game at Bright House Field, the home to the Philadelphia Phillies spring training and their Florida State League representative Clearwater Threshers.

All of the Cardinals postseason games will be broadcast in Louisville on WAVG 1450 AM.

2007 BIG EAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARDS
BIG EAST PLAYERS OF THE YEARJosh Harrison, 2B, Cincinnati (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio)Chris Dominguez, 3B, Louisville (So., Miami, Fla.)
BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE YEARGeorge Brown, LHP, St. John's (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.)
BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEARJedd Gyorko, 2B, West Virginia (Fr., Morgantown, W.Va.)
BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAREd Blankmeyer, St. John's
ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAMPos. Player School Cl HometownP Justin Marks Louisville So. Owensboro, Ky.P Scott Barnes St. John's Jr. Chicopee, Mass.P George Brown St. John's Sr. Syracuse, N.Y.P Corey Young Seton Hall Jr. Shrewsbury, N.J.C Derrick Alfonso Louisville Sr. Bowling Green, Ky.1B Joey Angelberger USF Sr. Dunedin, Fla.2B Josh Harrison Cincinnati Jr. Cincinnati, Ohio3B Chris Dominguez * Louisville So. Miami, Fla.SS Tyler Kuhn West Virginia Sr. Louisville, Ky.OF Tony Campana Cincinnati Sr. Springboro, OhioOF A.J. Pollock Notre Dame So. Hebron, Conn.OF Ryan Lockwood USF Fr. Tampa, Fla.DH David Mills Notre Dame So. Battle Creek, Mich.
* unanimous selection
ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Pos. Player School Cl HometownP Dan Osterbrock Cincinnati Jr. Cincinnati, OhioP Wade Korpi Notre Dame Sr. Lake Worth, Fla.P Eric Maust Notre Dame So. Alpharetta, Ga.P Colin Lynch St. John's Jr. Manchester, N.H.C Daniel Benedetti St. John's Jr. Long Beach, Calif.1B Andrew Clark Louisville So. Carmel, Ind.2B Jedd Gyorko West Virginia Fr. Morgantown, W.Va.3B Mike Spina Cincinnati Jr. Newberry, Fla.SS Addison Maruszak USF Jr. Pinellas Park, Fla.OF Sean Conley Pittsburgh Sr. Chippewa, Pa.OF Chris Anninos St. John's Sr. San Antonio, TexasOF Justin Parks West Virginia Jr. Columbus, OhioDH Paul Karmas St. John's Fr. Douglaston, N.Y.
ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAMPos. Player School Cl HometownP David Phelps Notre Dame Jr. Hazelwood, Mo.P B.J. Rosenberg Louisville Sr. Vine Grove, Ky.C Ryan Baker Cincinnati Sr. Portland, Maine1B Jaren Matthews Rutgers Fr. Teaneck, N.J.1B Joe Agreste West Virginia Jr. Chesapeake, Va.2B Justin McClanahan Louisville Sr. Annapolis, Md.3B Vince Belnome West Virginia So. Coatesville, Pa.SS Derek Shunk Villanova Sr. Yardley, Pa.SS Jeff Grantham St. John's Sr. Randolph, N.J.OF Cameron Satterwhite Cincinnati Jr. Cincinnati, OhioOF Carlos Del Rosario St. John's Jr. New York, N.Y.OF Stewart Ijames Louisville Fr. Owensboro, Ky.OF Greg Miller Seton Hall Jr. Shamong, N.J.

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Players Mentioned

Derrick Alfonso

Andrew Clark

Chris Dominguez

Chris Dominguez

Stewart Ijames

Stewart Ijames

Justin Marks

Justin Marks

Justin McClanahan

B.J. Rosenberg

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