Jun. 6—When it was announced last week he was named an NCAA Division II All-American, Dawson Pomeroy readily admitted he was shocked.
“I didn’t even consider that it was a possibility that I would receive that type of recognition for the season I had,” said Pomeroy, who received honorable mention on the baseball writers’ team. “It’s a nice honor to have, but there’s a lot I need to work on for next season.”
But the modest Pittsburg State junior posted a breakout season for the Gorillas while proving to be one of the premier two-way players in the country.
Pomeroy, a first-team all-MIAA and first-team all-Central Region selection, batted .259 with 12 extra-base hits (five doubles and seven home runs) and 24 RBI in 40 games for the Gorillas. He made 12 relief appearances, posting a team-best 1.37 ERA while notching six saves in 19 2/3 innings.
The right-hander allowed six hits and four walks on the season and racked up 27 strikeouts. He held opponents to a minuscule .094 batting average.
“He’s come in and been a very mature player,” PSU baseball coach Bob Fornelli said. “I still think his best days are ahead of him. He’s really matured on the mound. He settled in and really gave us a chance at the end of the year. I’m excited about what he brings to the table. Any accolades he gets, he definitely deserves.”
The junior, a second-year player at PSU, started his collegiate career at Barton Community College where he was a two-time All-Kansas Jayhawk Conference performer.
As a position player, Pomeroy batted .260 as a sophomore season with 54 runs scored and 35 RBI. He posted a 3-3 record with four saves and 49 strikeouts in 30 innings.
Pomeroy initially transferred to Division I Campbell in Buies Creek, North Carolina, before becoming a Gorilla.
“At Campbell, I hurt my arm pitching in the second game of the year and received a medical redshirt,” Pomeroy said. “Without knowing how my arm would bounce back, I felt like having more of a position player role would be best for me moving forward. I had almost committed to Pitt State instead of Campbell. The decision to come to Pitt was really easy since Coach Fornelli said I could do both hitting and pitching.”
It could be said that Fornelli’s recruiting of Pomeroy began even before his days at PSU. When he was the coach at Fort Hays State, Fornelli crossed paths with Pomeroy’s father Derek (another All-American) playing at alumni games.
And there was no doubt about Dawson’s two-way potential.
“I think his future professionally would be pitching,” Fornelli said. “He loves to hit. He’s a really good third baseman.”
Fornelli attributed Pomeroy’s offensive success to having the switch-hitter focus exclusively on hitting right-handed.
“This year was the first time we have taken away the left-handed swing, slowed him down a little bit so he had one thing to work on,” Fornelli said. “Along with pitching, I think he’ll come back and have an even better year.”
Pomeroy feels he’s just starting to scratch the surface as a pitcher. He primarily throws in the low-90s and has been clocked at 94 miles per hour while mixing in a slider.
“I have done more of the position player stuff on a daily basis and then work on the pitching here and there,” Pomeroy said. “I just enjoy the competition, and I try to make it a 1-on-1 competition between the hitter and I.”
Competitiveness and tenacity are characteristics that define Pomeroy, according to Fornelli.
“To tell you how tough he is, he got hit in the right wrist during the last conference series (against Jared Kengott of Emporia State),” Fornelli said. “He was 92-93 and blew his wrist up. He didn’t play catch. He didn’t hit that week before Washburn and then he ended up pitching in the deciding game (of the MIAA Tournament quarterfinal series) for three innings. He’s just a tough kid with a lot of heart, who makes himself that good on the mound.”
Pomeroy said his primary goal this offseason is to improve his off-speed stuff on the mound while working to put the ball in play more often with two strikes offensively.
As for now, the two-way standout is just happy to become the eighth player in Gorilla history to earn All-America honors and the first since 2006 when catcher John Brummett earned first-team recognition for PSU.
“Being an All-American is cool,” Pomeroy said.
I think I’ll enjoy looking back at it more when my career is over. Right now, I know I can be better than I was this year and I’m going to let that in itself motivate me for next spring.”