More than two months before the start of the season, Wolfpack outfielder and marketing senior Ryan Scott and pitcher and management junior Taylor Domengeaux have already gotten to play with some of the best players in their conference.
Both Domengeaux and Scott were selected to play in the inaugural Southern States Athletic Conference All-Star Classic, played at Patterson Field in Montgomery, Ala. Coaches from both the western and eastern division of the SSAC selected players from their team to participate in the all-star game festivities. Scott said the nomination by his coaches to participate in the event surprised him in part because the team is new to the conference.
“I was surprised I got selected to the All-Star team. I didn’t even know they had an All-Star game this year,” Scott said. “It was a pretty cool thing to go to.”
Domengeaux, who split time between shortstop and the pitcher’s mound, impressed coaches with his pitching performance last season. He was second on the team with an earned run average of 5.37 and accounted for of the 19 wins the Wolfpack had on the season. Domengeaux was also the winning pitcher when the ‘Pack beat William Carey University in the game that sent Loyola to their first conference wchampionship game since 2002.
In addition to pitching seven strong innings he also went three for four at the plate with a key run batted in. Domengeaux also batted 0.271 with 17 runs batted in on the season. Scott didn’t spend anytime pitching last season but his performance at the plate was instrumental to the team’s offense. Scott led Loyola in RBIs with 45 and batting average with 0.378. Scott’s production didn’t stop when the conference tournament started either as he got 11 RBI while the Wolfpack made their run to the conference finals.
In addition to the selected All-Stars from the eastern and western divisions playing two nine-inning games that day, Scott said they also went through a full work out. “They had a pro work out for us,” Scott said. “We ran the 60 (yard dash), we hit batting practice, we made throws from the outfield and fielded groundballs.”
To allow players to exhibit their full skill set and to keep them from getting fatigued, position players would start the first few innings at their positions and took at bats in the other game.
Loyola’s baseball team will face many players in the SSAC who they have not played against before. Scott said that one of the best parts of the experience was getting to scout out their opponents. “We got to see how our conference was and see how everybody’s team looked,” Scott said. He also said the SSAC is a step up in level of competition over the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference they came from last year, pointing out that they will have to face more nationally ranked opponents. Of the 14 teams in the SSAC six are nationally ranked or receiving votes.
To be eligible for the event, the player had to also be eligible for the 2011 Amateur Draft. Because all of the players on the field were draft eligible, they played the game under the watchful eye of major league scouts. “There were probably over 30 major league scouts out there watching the game,” Scott said.
Despite the pressure to perform when scouts are in attendance, Scott said he thinks he played well. Since a collegiate athlete’s on field future can depend on being seen, Scott said he was excited for the opportunity that comes with being seen by a scout. “I would love the opportunity to keep playing after I graduate,” Scott said. “That’s always been a dream of mine.”
Hasani Grayson can be reached at [email protected]
