Benet senior catcher Dominik Tomala has decided he won’t play college baseball.
Tomala is going to focus on his academics at Indiana, where he has been accepted into the Kelley School of Business. But he isn’t quite done taking care of business on the diamond.
“He’s a really big competitor,” Benet co-coach Jorge Acosta said. “It’s one of those things where those guys who aren’t going to play in college, there’s just something to be said this time of year where they kind of know the urgency at the end.”
Tomala’s sense of urgency was on display when the sixth-seeded Redwings played 12th-seeded Downers Grove South in a Class 4A Benet Regional semifinal on Thursday. He ended the top of the first inning by throwing out a runner who was trying to steal second base. He reacted by jumping up in the air as his teammates encouraged him.
That has become a familiar scene this season. Tomala has caught nine would-be base stealers.
“The adrenaline is crazy,” he said. “I get really excited. A lot of energy is pumping through my body as soon as the umpire calls him out.”
The play fired up Benet, which scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the first en route to a 7-5 win. Tomala made another great play to end the sixth inning when he hustled to field a tapper by Billy Skweres and fired to first for the out.
Plays like that make Tomala a popular guy among the Redwings (20-14), who will host third-seeded Hinsdale Central (25-13) in the regional championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday. Benet senior pitcher Giovanni Calandriello was especially appreciative of Tomala’s first-inning throw.
“That was big because the first inning, you want to get your comfort level,” Calandriello said. “With the defense helping me out, it made me feel a lot better, got the adrenaline moving.”
Calandriello (5-2), a Loras commit who was making his playoff debut after missing his junior season following Tommy John surgery, had walked the first batter. He got a double play on a line drive to short and gave up a single before Tomala’s strike.
Benet pitchers have come to expect that from Tomala.
“You’re never worried about runners,” Calandriello said. “Even when I throw a curveball, I’m not worried about spiking it because I know Dom’s going to block it.
“Even if there is a fast runner on base, I have to switch my timing up. But I don’t have to worry because I know Dom will throw him out.”
Acosta said Tomala’s play sets the tone for Benet.
“He does a great job controlling our pitchers, and he’s a fiery guy,” Acosta said. “That’s something that we really like too. If pitchers aren’t as sharp, he’s not afraid to go out there and let them know that they need to get their butt in gear a little bit.
“He does a good job controlling the run game. He’s got one of the better arms in the area, and that’s something where, if our pitchers give him a chance, typically he’s going to throw guys out consistently.”
Tomala’s guidance helped Calandriello, who walked five but allowed only one run and four hits in five innings.
“When I’m able to control the runners, it helps the pitchers out,” Tomala said. “You throw a guy out, and it really brings the team energy up.
“I worked on it a lot the last two years, for varsity level specifically, just because there is a lot of small ball — bunting, stealing. When you have a pitcher like Gio and he’s throwing strikes and he’s throwing the ball where I’m asking on a steal, I can throw (the runner) out a lot easier. It makes my job really easy.”
Tomala, who is batting .264, also got it done with the bat. His RBI double in the sixth turned out to be important because the Mustangs scored four runs in the seventh and had the potential tying run on base before junior pitcher Liam Creighton retired Skweres on a liner to second to end it.
“My team needs me in that spot,” Tomala said. “With guys on base, you’ve got to drive them in, especially with two outs.
“I struck out the first at-bat, so just to be able to see the ball a little better for the rest of the playoffs helps.”
Tomala can’t wait to play his final home game on Saturday.
“Oh, I’m really hyped,” he said. “I’m really edgy for it, man. I’m excited. I’m bringing my best every single pitch, every single play.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
