Two years ago, a late call by Oregon Tech gave Domonic Morris a chance to play college baseball. At the time, the Konawaena graduate was wrapping up his high school career, where he stood out on the diamond and on the gridiron.
However, no one was giving Morris a chance to play on scholarship at the college level in either football or baseball. That all changed one evening when the high school baseball team was eating out after a win over Radford in the losers bracket of the state championship tournament.
“We were eating a post game meal at Fat Boy’s Saimin in Waikiki when I got a call on my cell phone from the (Oregon Tech) coach asking me if Dom and his parents would be interested in him going there on a partial scholarship,” former Konawaena coach Dave Distel said.
Two years later, the 5-foot-11 outfielder has rewarded Oregon Tech by being named to the first team All-NAIA West after a stellar sophomore year.
“I was a little surprised,” Morris said of being given the honor. “I knew I did well, but I just did not know how I did compared to the rest of the conference.”
While it may have been a surprise to Morris, his success recent success has come as no surprise to his former high school coach.
“Dom was one of the hardest working guys out of a large group of hard working Konawaena ballplayers in 2013,” Distel said. “His game and practice preparation, both mentally and physically, was much above the average of a typical high school player. The only surprise to me is how no Division I team offered him a scholarship.”
Amongst his fellow Owls in the NAIA ranks, Morris was near the top in nearly every offensive category. He hit .313 with a .478 slugging percentage. Morris led Oregon Tech in doubles (18), runs scored (46) and he was second in RBIs (36). Morris also had three home runs, two of which came in one game against conference opponent Simpson University earlier in the year. He added two doubles and was named Player of the Week.
Morris attributes his success to being more aggressive and not letting the failures of the game get to him.
“Baseball is a game a failure. I wasn’t going to let it anger me. I just accepted it,” Morris said
Off the diamond Morris is focused on getting his health science degree and wants to become a paramedic. He plans on playing on the Big Island this summer with Kaha Wong.