Baseball

LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Kentucky junior pitcher Greg Dombrowski has been named to the Roger Clemens Award watch list, annually given to the most outstanding pitcher in college baseball.

The right-hander was dominant in 2006, leading Southeastern Conference Champion Kentucky in ERA (2.83) and wins (10). Dombrowski hurled 101.2 innings and forced opponents into a .280 batting average a year ago, only walking 11 batters.

Dombrowski, who relies on a deadly breaking ball to force hitters in to ground-ball outs, was named to a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association third-team preseason All-American earlier in November.

The finalists for the 2007 Roger Clemens Award will be selected by a national panel that includes all Division 1 head baseball coaches, a selection of national media who cover collegiate baseball, and the 16 winners of the R. E. ?Bob? Smith Award, which was presented to the top player in the country in Houston in 1988-2003. In addition, the 10 previous finalists for the Clemens Award are also issued ballots.

The Roger Clemens Award was named after future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the College World Series title in 1983. As a major leaguer, Clemens has won 348 games (eighth best in history), fanned more than 4,600 hitters and won seven Cy Young Awards, emblematic as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball.

The 62 pitchers named to the list included such names as David Price (Vanderbilt), Cole St. Clair (Rice), Joshua Fields (Georgia), and Nick Chigges (College of Charleston). Last year?s winner was first-round MLB Draft selection Andrew Miller of North Carolina.

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