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May 18, 2009

Interview With Chris Dominguez

CLEARWATER, Fla. - University of Louisville junior third baseman Chris Dominguez earned his second straight BIG EAST Player of the Year honor, while junior lefty Justin Marks was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year to lead six Cardinals earning All-BIG EAST honors at Monday night's BIG EAST Conference Awards Banquet at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club.

Dominguez, a junior from Miami, Fla., earned the 2009 honor as the Cardinals' leader in home runs with 21, RBI with 75, stolen bases with 17 on 21 attempts and is the co-leader in hitting at .365. He is the first player to win the BIG EAST Player of the Year honor in consecutive seasons since Notre Dame's Steve Stanley won in 2001 and 2002. Dominguez shared the honor with Cincinnati's Josh Harrison in 2008.

Marks, the preseason BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, earned his first post-season honor with a 9-2 record, 3.47 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 85.2 innings. In less than three full seasons, the Owensboro, Ky., native is Louisville's career leader in wins (27), strikeouts (282) and ERA (2.82). He becomes the second Louisville player to be named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year in the last three seasons, joining 2007 winner Zack Pitts.

Dominguez and Marks, who led Louisville to its best regular season in school history as the Cardinals went 40-14 and captured the BIG EAST regular-season title for the first time, also earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors to lead six total U of L players to earn All-BIG EAST honors.

Leading the Cards' All-BIG EAST Second Team selections were junior first baseman Andrew Clark, sophomore outfielder Phil Wunderlich and sophomore right-handed pitcher Thomas Royse. Clark, from New Palestine, Ind., finished the regular season with a .348 average, eight home runs, 46 RBI and leads the conference in runs scored with 74 and walks with 50. Wunderlich, from Chicago, is tied for the team lead in hitting at .365 and second in home runs (15) and RBI (66). Royse, from Lexington, Ky., is 3-2 overall with two saves, an ERA of 3.48 and 48 strikeouts in 41.1 innings.

Earning All-BIG EAST Third Team honors for Louisville was junior second baseman Adam Duvall. A Louisville native and Butler High School graduate, Duvall is third on the Cards in hitting at .359 to go along with 10 home runs and 47 RBI. He also ranks second in the BIG EAST in runs scored with 73.

USF head coach Lelo Prado earned BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors for the first time, while Connecticut outfielder George Springer was tabbed as the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year in the other two major individual awards.

Up next, No. 1-seeded and No. 17 ranked Louisville will open the 2009 BIG EAST Championship on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET, at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., against No. 8-seeded Cincinnati. The game, along with all of Louisville's post-season games in 2009, will be carried live over the air on WNDA 1570 AM in Louisville and online through CardsTV at www.UofLSports.com.

2009 BIG EAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARDS

BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Chris Dominguez, 3B, Louisville (Jr., Miami, Fla.)

BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Justin Marks, LHP, Louisville (Jr., Owensboro, Ky.)

BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
George Springer, OF, Connecticut (Fr., New Britain, Conn.)

BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR
Lelo Prado, USF

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Pos.      Player                        School                Cl           Hometown
P          Justin Marks *              Louisville              Jr.          Owensboro, Ky.
P          Keith Cantwell              Seton Hall            Sr.          Tinton Falls, N.J.
P          Randy Fontanez           USF                    So.          Oviedo, Fla.
P          Jarryd Summers            West Virginia       So.          Sharpsville, Pa.
C          Tobias Streich              West Virginia       So.          Johnsonburg, Pa.
1B         Tim Morris                   St. John's            Jr.          Villanova, Pa.
2B         Chris Sedon                 Pittsburgh            Jr.          Plains, Pa.
3B         Chris Dominguez           Louisville              Jr.          Miami, Fla.
SS         Jedd Gyorko                West Virginia       So.          Morgantown, W.Va.
OF        George Springer           Connecticut         Fr.          New Britain, Conn.
OF        A.J. Pollock                  Notre Dame         Jr.          Hebron, Conn.
OF        Justin Parks                 West Virginia        Sr.          Columbus, Ohio
DH        Chris Affinito                Seton Hall            Sr.          East Brunswick, N.J.

* unanimous selection

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Pos.      Player                        School                Cl           Hometown
P          John Folino                  Connecticut         Sr.          Quincy, Mass.
P          Thomas Royse             Louisville             So.          Lexington, Ky.
P          Cole Johnson               Notre Dame        So.          Hudson, Ohio
P          Sean Black                   Seton Hall            Jr.          Mount Laurel, N.J.
C          Trey Manz                   USF                    Sr.          Columbus, Ga.
1B         Andrew Clark               Louisville              Jr.          Carmel, Ind.
2B         Vince Belnome             West Virginia        Jr.          Coatesville, Pa.
3B         Mike Spina                   Cincinnati             Sr.          Newberry, Fla.
SS         Jeremy Barnes             Notre Dame         Sr.          Garland, Texas
OF        Lance Durham              Cincinnati             Jr.          Forest Park, Ohio
OF        Phil Wunderlich            Louisville             So.          Chicago, Ill.
OF        Matt Smedberg            Seton Hall            Sr.          Rockaway, N.J.
DH        Erick Fernandez            Georgetown        So.          Hialeah, Fla.
ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Pos.      Player                        School                Cl           Hometown
P          Matt Singer                 Seton Hall            Jr.          Bayonne, N.J.
P          Derrick Stultz               USF                    So.          Tampa, Fla.
P          Chris Enourato             West Virginia        Jr.          Bridgeport, W.Va.
P          Billy Gross                    West Virginia        Jr.          Frederick, Md.
C          Danny Benedetti          St. John's            Sr.          Long Beach, Calif.
1B         Todd Brazeal                USF                    Fr.          Tampa, Fla.
1B         Jaren Mathews             Rutgers              So.          Teaneck, N.J.
2B         Adam Duvall                 Louisville              Jr.          Louisville, Ky.
3B         Dan DiBartolomeo         West Virginia       So.          Margate, N.J.
OF        Junior Carlin                 USF                    So.          Riverview, Fla.
OF        Brian Kemp                  St. John's            Jr.          East Rockaway, N.Y.
OF        Jimmy Parque              St. John's            Jr.          Pacifica, Calif.
OF        Austin Markel               West Virginia        Sr.          Elizabethville, Pa.
DH        Paul Karmas        St. John's           So.        Douglaston, N.Y.