Making the Most of an Opportunity : College baseball: Dominguez Hills’ Woinarowicz started as the bullpen catcher and became the team’s batting leader.

When Corey Woinarowicz arrived at Cal State Dominguez Hills as a sophomore, only an optimist might have suggested that he had a future on the school’s baseball team.

Little did anyone suspect that by the time Woinarowicz was a senior, he would be among the leading hitters in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. with a .336 batting average and one of the team’s top defensive players.

It appeared as if his career was going in the opposite direction after he tried out at shortstop in 1991, didn’t make the team and became a bullpen catcher.

“If you would’ve told me that our bullpen catcher would be one of our leading hitters, playing every day in the outfield and batting third in our lineup, I wouldn’t have believed it,” pitching coach John Verhoeven said. “If he would have told me that, I would’ve thought he was crazy.”

Then again, nobody realized how much perseverance Woinarowicz, 22, possessed.

He played two seasons at Westminster High, where he batted .393 as a senior, but wasn’t recruited for college and didn’t play in two years at Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach.

“I wanted to play there, but they didn’t accept any walk-ons at the time and my education has always been the priority,” he said.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Woinarowicz decided to enroll at Dominguez Hills.

“The real reason he came here was that he watched us play when he was a freshman or sophomore at Golden West and he saw us make seven or eight errors in a game and thought he could play here,” Verhoeven said.

But when he failed to make the roster, Coach George Wing offered him a chance to stay with the team as a bullpen catcher.

“The situation was more like, ‘Do you want to be a part of this team or do you want your career to end today?’ ” Wing said. “It wasn’t like he had a lot of options, but it was something he took with a joyful spirit and a willing attitude.”

In the bullpen, Woinarowicz worked to improve his skills.

“I just listened to what the coaches had to say, took their advice and applied it to my situation,” Woinarowicz said. “I also listed to what the pitchers and catchers wanted so I could cater to them as individuals.”

It was late in his sophomore season when Woinarowicz got a chance to play. He made the most of the opportunity.

He had three hits, including a home run--the only home run he has hit in his college career. Woinarowicz finished the season with a .314 batting average.

In the off-season, Woinarowicz played in a summer league for Eston, Saskatchewan.

“I think his confidence really came that summer and it came at the plate, not behind it,” Wing said. “It was toward the end of his junior year that he really started to make an impact in our conference.”

As a junior, Woinarowicz played in 27 games as a catcher and designated hitter and batted .292. He also received honorable mention All-CCAA honors.

Although the Toro coaching staff was planning to platoon Woinarowicz this season, he again proved them wrong.

“That was the idea going into the season. . . . But he’s always one step ahead of us,” Verhoeven said.

Woinarowicz prepared for his senior season by working extensively on his fielding. The result has been impressive.

He has started every game for the Toros, and it wasn’t until recently that he made his first error.

“After he made his first error of the season last week, he came back to the dugout and smiled at me,” Verhoeven said. “So I said to him, ‘You didn’t expect to go the whole year without an error?’ And he said, ‘Of course, I did,’ and he wasn’t kidding.”

Woinarowicz had a 22-game hitting streak that tied a school record. He didn’t realize he had a lengthy streak until it was nearly over.

It took a great fielding play to end the streak.

“On his last at bat he hit a meteor to right field and the (outfielder) caught it on the run in the corner,” Wing said. “He couldn’t have done any more to try and keep it alive.”

Woinarowicz’s never-say-never approach has earned the respect of teammates.

“The guy works so hard, it’s nice to see good things happen to him,” catcher Troy Dunlap said. “We all call him Mr. Clutch because somehow, when it’s a clutch situation, that guy’s always up and does something to start us off.”

Woinarowicz has played an integral role in the success of the Toros (23-11), who are in first place in the CCAA and ranked ninth in Division II. But Wing is more impressed by what he has accomplished away from the game.

A physical education major and biology minor, Woinarowicz has a 3.6 grade-point average and has earned academic All-American honors. He expects to graduate in May.

“The guy’s not just a Joe Blow jock who eats, drinks and sleeps thinking about baseball,” Wing said. “He’s a great student, too, and he also holds down a job.”

Woinarowicz, who lives in Midway City in Orange County, commutes to school and to a hotel in Anaheim where he works about 30 hours a week as a bartender.

Woinarowicz already has a job secured as a high school teacher in Vail, Colo., when he graduates.

“He’s one of those guys who I feel pretty positive about for the future regardless of what endeavor he chooses for himself,” Wing said.