BIRMINGHAM BASEBALL TOURNAMENT : Dombrowski Plays Pitch, Then Catch : Blue division: Paraclete basketball star wins a baseball game from the mound and from the outfield.

For a shooting guard, Paraclete High’s Steve Dombrowski played a heck of a baseball game Wednesday.

Dombrowski, making his first pitching start of the season, allowed Birmingham just one hit over the first four innings in the Blue division championship of the Birmingham tournament, as Paraclete staked him to a five-run lead that stood up for a 5-4 victory.

After tiring in the fifth inning, Dombrowski moved to center field, his normal position, where he made a diving catch of a line drive with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the seventh. That preserved the victory for the Spirit at Birmingham High.

“This is definitely my second sport,” Dombrowski said. “The coaches told me to just hang in there, and it took a while for (Birmingham) to figure out my curveball and we got a lead in the meantime.”

Two months ago, Dombrowski led the Paraclete basketball team to the Southern Section Division IV-A playoffs, averaging 17.9 points.

Paraclete Coach Mike Fulmer, faced with his fourth game in five days didn’t hesitate to start Dombrowski, who had pitched just one inning this season, but had starting experience a year ago.

Fulmer counted on Dombrowski’s athletic maturity in this key situation.

“With his basketball experience, he has a very tough mentality,” Fulmer said. “I was surprised when he came up to me about 10 minutes before we started and he said, ‘I’m nervous.’ ”

The tournament title came as a mild surprise for Paraclete, which expected to win one of three pool-play games.

Instead, the Spirit won two of three and advanced to the championship through a three-way tiebreaker with Notre Dame and Granada Hills.

While Dombrowski shut down the Braves’ offensive attack, the Spirit (9-7) generated hits off starter Fernando Centeno (2-4).

Consecutive first-inning singles by Bill Kneifl, Raul Gutierrez and Lance Lanfear gave Paraclete a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Centeno was able to keep Birmingham (10-7) out of further trouble as Paraclete stranded seven runners in the first four innings. But in the fifth, he walked Lanfear on a close full-count pitch with one out and a runner on first. Paraclete took advantage with a single by Dan Berry and a double by Travis Studt. The Spirit pushed the lead to 5-0 before Centeno was replaced by Pedro Rodriguez.

“Pedro really came in and helped keep us in the game,” Birmingham Coach Rick Weber said. “Fernando wasn’t pitching badly; our offensive just wasn’t going at all.”

After rallying for a seven-run seventh inning to defeat Culver City Tuesday, the Braves began their second comeback somewhat earlier. In the bottom of the fifth, Dombrowski allowed four hits and three runs before being relieved by Dan O’Gara.

O’Gara survived until the seventh, when he walked four of the five batters he faced.

Gutierrez, coming in with one out and the bases loaded, got Alberto Flores to pop up to short. Then Rodriguez connected with Gutierrez’ second pitch to short center field, where Dombrowski made the catch and saved his victory.

“I was still pretty confident our relievers would be able to hold on,” Dombrowski said.