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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.

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 YEAR
Josh Harrison, 2B, Cincinnati (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio)
Chris Dominguez, 3B, Louisville (So., Miami, Fla.)

BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE YEAR
George Brown, LHP, St. John's (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.)

BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Jedd Gyorko, 2B, West Virginia (Fr., Morgantown, W.Va.)

BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR
Ed Blankmeyer, St. John's

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Pos.      Player                   School               Cl           Hometown
P         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, Ohio
3B        Chris Dominguez *        Louisville           So.          Miami, Fla.
SS        Tyler Kuhn               West Virginia        Sr.          Louisville, Ky.
OF        Tony Campana             Cincinnati           Sr.          Springboro, Ohio
OF        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           Hometown
P         Dan Osterbrock           Cincinnati           Jr.          Cincinnati, Ohio
P         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, Texas
OF        Justin Parks             West Virginia        Jr.          Columbus, Ohio
DH        Paul Karmas              St. John's           Fr.          Douglaston, N.Y.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Pos.      Player                   School               Cl           Hometown
P         David Phelps             Notre Dame           Jr.          Hazelwood, Mo.
P         B.J. Rosenberg           Louisville           Sr.           Vine Grove, Ky.
C         Ryan Baker               Cincinnati           Sr.          Portland, Maine
1B        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, Ohio
OF        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.