New York, N.Y.— It seems like it was just yesterday that John Jay College of Criminal Justice baseball alumnus
James DeCesare ('08) and
John Dobkowski ('08) were leading the Bloodhounds to some of the winningest seasons in school history along with a City University of New York Athletic Conference championship in 2007. But upon their exits from the College, the former CUNYAC Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year have maintained their baseball prowess at the professional level as DeCesare has been starring for the Desert Valley Mountain Lions of the Continental League, while Dobkowski has been a standout pitcher for the Gauting Indians in a German baseball league.
DeCesare, who dazzled on the diamond for John Jay from 2004-07, is batting over .300 this season and was selected to compete in the Continental League All-Star Game in Alpine, Texas on July 6.
“I am having a great time playing baseball at a high level,” said DeCesare. “I'm doing what I can to make my mark and continue to play baseball at a higher level.”
Dobkowski, who dominated the mound for the Bloodhounds during the same time span, leads the Indians in wins with four and has picked up the lone save by the team this season. He has logged 36.0 innings and has recorded 17 strikeouts.
“Both James and John have performed very well for their respective clubs,” said John Jay Director of Athletics and head baseball coach, Dan Palumbo. “They were great while at John Jay and made the College proud, and are continuing to display their talent at an even higher level now.
DeCesare saw action in 152 games and had a career .365 batting average (209-for-573) with 46 doubles, seven triples, four homeruns and 150 RBI. He was named the conference Player of the Year in 2006 after posting a .410 batting average (71-for-173) with 17 doubles and 62 RBI, the most RBI in one season in John Jay baseball history.
Dobkowski, who has the most wins in the history of CUNYAC with 30, had an overall record of 30-17 while with John Jay. He logged 303.1 innings and struck out 242 batters. His 12 wins in 2006 helped propel John Jay to a 30-14 record that year, which was then a CUNYAC record for most wins in a season by a CUNYAC baseball team.
