Athlete Of The Week: Dominic Cadiz

ORLEANS – Firebirds first baseman Dominic Cadiz (UCLA) couldn’t be quieted at the plate Friday against Chatham in a game that, for Orleans, flipped quickly from romp to restless.

In the end, Orleans won 10-9, largely thanks to Cadiz’s six hits, four RBIs and three runs scored — a night that started with a go-ahead home run and ended with a walk-off single.

Cadiz first put the Firebirds on the board with an eight-pitch at-bat that ended with a two-run homer flourish in the first. From there, Orleans continued to add, with Cadiz remaining a central part of the onslaught (the Firebirds would go on to tally 21 hits total).

Next from Cadiz came five singles, a few of them critical in the Firebirds victory. With two on in the second, Cadiz hit a blooper to center field that possibly could have scored lead runner Ryan MacDougall (Dayton) from second, had he been sent home aggressively. Cadiz dropped in another next time up, this one indeed scoring Rowan Kelly (UC Santa Barbara).

In the sixth, Cadiz punched a grounder through the left side to reach yet again, then came around to score as Orleans grew an 8-4 lead. He once more deposited a ball to left field for his fifth hit the following inning.

The ninth started with Orleans comfortably holding a 9-4 lead, three outs away from the Fourth of July eve win against rival Chatham. The first out came by way of a home run robbery secured by Casey Cumiskey (Southern New Hampshire) in right field. By the time the Firebirds recorded a second out, the Anglers had tied the game 9-9 (the rally fueled by a series of well-placed base hits plus some misplays from Orleans). 

Cadiz’s hot bat would be needed one last time. Orleans’ leadoff hitter Kelly opened the bottom of the frame with a double. Cadiz proceeded to hit a chopper back up the middle, and that was that — a 6-for-6 game punctuated with the game-winner. 

It was the second walk-off base hit for Cadiz in three games. The rising sophomore at UCLA — a program that just spent this past spring as the No. 1 ranked team in college baseball wire-to-wire — leads the Cape League in hits (25) and is third in average (.338) among qualified players (as of The Chronicle’s Tuesday deadline).