Farelli 1 Zachary Farelli Mr.

Harrell English Composition 1 4 November 2013 Andres Viduya On 24 October 2013, I sat down in my room on the fourth floor of South Hall with a young man named Andres Dominic Viduya. Andres, also known as Dominic, started as a sensational high school pitcher for Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He played with the number 32 stitched to his back. Dom said to me, I like to believe that its my lucky number. He played a little bit of center field, but for the most part, pitching became his main position. Dom started playing baseball about ten years when he was eight, and has pitched since little league, which began when Dominic was close to nine years old. Dominic has been playing baseball so long that he could not imagine life without it. Dom explains, Baseball has always been my sport. Ever since I was little. Hell, half my friends were on the baseball team. We still keep in touch. I dont really plan on losing contact with them any time soon. Dominic went on to explain to me how close him and his teammates grew throughout the years. Close to 11 or 12 of the main seniors became really close friends. The class of 2013 had nine seniors, six of which play some form of college baseball. Dom described the unbreakable bond the group of ball players shared as, We always had at least one thing planned for games. Sometimes we would go to breakfast before our weekend games. Other times we would go as a group and order pizza, win or lose. When there was no game, the boys would

Farelli 2 do everything from off-roading to fishing. Dom and his baseball buddies had a lot of fun on and off the field. The group will always remember the fun times they spent together and the excruciating workouts. Hollidaysburg did not become a great baseball team over night. Breaking school records and winning a championship took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Coach Richard Smith quickly became Doms favorite coach. Coach Smith coached Hollidaysburgs pitchers. His goal was to squeeze every ounce of talent out of the teams pitchers Dom explained, He was tough, I mean really tough. I felt like I was at a baseball boot camp. I just made myself know that this is gonna pay off, and it did. Coach Smith was known for his extreme workouts. He constantly emphasized good mechanics. Dom said, Once you got through his workouts, you were golden. He could improve anyone. I know for a fact that I wouldnt be where I am today without him. Coach Smith greatly improved Dominics skills. While Dominics pitching improved, he began to open more and more eyes. He received a lot of attention from several schools. Ohio University, The University of Akron, and Marietta College, all took an interest in Dominic as a pitcher. Dominic had what it takes to pitch at a college level. He had a tool belt of pitches and was confident with all of them. Dominic had four main pitches at his disposal. Dom threw a blazing 81 to 82 mile per hour fastball, a hard slider, a wicked curveball, and a deceiving changeup. With Dominics brilliant placement, combined with his smart planning, he devastated his opponents. Dominics go to pitch, became his curve ball, Ive always been very confident with my curve. Whether the count was full or 3-0. Id still feel good

Farelli 3 throwing it. However, every pitcher knows that throwing curveballs puts a lot of stress on the arm. During Dominics senior year of high school, he damaged his elbow. The injury he sustained may have occurred at the beginning of his senior year. However, near the end of his senior year, he knew that something was out of the ordinary. The doctors examined his arm and determined he may have partially torn his UCL. The UCL is a tendon on your elbow, and needless to say, Dominic had a severe injury to deal with. Most of the colleges that scouted him, lost interest. Dominic planned on choosing The University of Akron to study Mechanical Engineering and play for Akrons baseball team. Dom still has not given up on that thought, I want to do some rehab. I still have a chance of walking on to the team. Dominic plans on having an MRI right before Christmas, and Dominic might start rehabilitation. Depending on the degree of the tear. Dom will have to undergo surgery if the doctors proclaim the tear too severe. Once Dominic regains his strength, he will then proceed to rehabilitation. If Dominic completes his rehabilitation, and gains 100 percent health in his arm, he will be considered a preferred walk on to Akrons baseball team. A preferred walk on means that Dom would not have to tryout that he would automatically make the squad. However, he would not receive any scholarship money. During his junior or senior year, he may pick up a scholarship. For Dominic Junior and Senior year of college may seem like light years away. However, time flies when youre having fun. Dominic had the most fun during his junior year of high school baseball. This became a monumental year not only for Dominic, but for his team as well. Hollidaysburgs high school baseball team broke several school records. Along with the

Farelli 4 records, the team also took home a championship. Dominic explained, Everyone did their part. We all did our best and had a great year. Dom pitched a lot his junior year. His hard work and dedication gained him the role of a captain. During Doms junior year, on 14 April 2012, Dominic accomplished a feat that not many pitchers have done. He threw a perfect game. The semifinals of the Altoona Curve Classic matched Hollidaysburg and Bishop Guilfoyle against each other. Bishop Guilfoyle was no pushover. Guilfoyle had also won a championship. Dominic started and finished that game. Dom had 11 strikeouts, four of those strikeouts were caught looking and threw two ground outs. During that semifinal game, two of Dominics, his curveball and his changeup, were on. Dom stated, I dont know, I had great control of them that day. They were working great. Both of them were really keeping the batters off balanced. Dominics defense also stepped up and they made some key defensive plays. In the fourth inning a batter hit a soft line drive over the first basemans head. The first baseman turned and ran about forty feet. As the ball sailed over his head, the fielder leaped and made a diving over the shoulder catch. The catch allowed Dom maintain his perfect game. Hollidaysburg won the game ten to zero. Ball games like these make baseball such an amazing sport. On 18 April 2013, another breathtaking game occurred for Dom and his team. Hollidaysburg faced off against Punxsutawney. As the third inning came around, Hollidaysburg took the field. Suddenly a deep fly ball sailed towards one of Hollidaysburgs outfielders, Tanner Claar. The ball continued to carry, and Tanner tracked it to the fence and made an attempt to make a play.

Farelli 5 Unfortunately, Tanners leg got caught in the fence. Tanner received a compound fracture and broke both, his tibia and fibula. Dom explained, It was really bad. The whole team, including me, was pretty much in shock. Both of his bones were sticking out of his skin. The injury was so bad, Tanner had to be life flighted to the hospital. He just kept bleeding. The paramedics couldnt get it to stop. At one point, it was so bad, they thought they were going to have to amputate it. His life flight flew right over the field during the sixth inning. By the sixth inning, Hollidaysburg had a deficit of nine to one. Then out of nowhere, Hollidaysburg scored ten runs in one inning. This gave Hollidaysburg the lead 11 to 9. Neither team scored after that, Hollidaysburg made an amazing comeback. According to Dom, It gave us a drive. Everyone in the dugout was saying, Come on guys. Lets win this one for Tanner. Then, we turned it around. I dont know, but to me it felt really special to me. You know? The fact that we won it for him. The injury left the team extremely demoralized at first. However, they used that energy to turn the tides and win the game for Tanner. That became a very special game for Dom, something he will never forget. Once the game concluded, and the teams shook hands. Doms team headed straight to the hospital. Dom said, We were constantly getting updates throughout the game on his condition. We were all pretty scared. We knew he was stabilized, but they told us that he might have nerve damage. If he had nerve damage, he might not be able to walk again. Luckily for Tanner, he had sustained no nerve damage. His recovery was lengthy, but he made a 100 percent recovery. In fact, he now plays college baseball.

Farelli 6 Dominic hopes to recover just as well as Tanner. He would like to reach 100 percent so he will be cleared to play for Akron. Dominic states, I love baseball. Its my favorite sport, and Im not ready to stop playing. Ill do what I have to do to get back out there. I dont remember what its like not to play. For Dominic, baseball has become more than just a game. Baseball has become a part of him.

Farelli 7 Work Cited Viduya, Andres. Personal Interview. 24 October 2013.