Schaumburg's D'Agata a nice catch for Purdue

Purdue's baseball program received a pretty nice catch Friday.

Schaumburg senior Dominick D'Agata, a two-year starter and all-area catcher in the spring, made a verbal commitment to play for the Boilermakers.

D'Agata, who is the seventh-rated senior class prospect in Illinois by Prep Baseball Report, said Purdue started showing interest at the end of his sophomore year. He said his other top choices were Creighton, Nebraska and Miami (Ohio).

"I like the way coach (Doug) Schreiber comes across as a coach," D'Agata said. "They're going to give me a chance to be a four-year starter and not many other schools did.

"It's the Big Ten, so you can't go wrong. A good education, they have football and basketball and I'll only be two hours from home so my parents can come watch me play."

D'Agata is also following in the footsteps of Schaumburg coach Paul Groot. He was a three-year letterwinner as a catcher at Purdue and team captain as a senior in 1978.

"I know he's excited about that," D'Agata said. "He's definitely showed me some of the tricks of it behind the plate and seeing the game a little bit differently."

The left-handed hitting D'Agata hit .369 with a school-record 16 doubles, 3 homers and 17 RBI as the Saxons went 25-7, won the Mid-Suburban League title and reached the sectional semifinals.

As a sophomore, D'Agata hit .345 with 4 homers and 22 RBI. He also shut down opposing running games the last two years by throwing out 60 percent of attempted base stealers.

D'Agata, who is interested in teaching and coaching or broadcast journalism, also played in the prestigious Area Code Games last month. He said he's worked on improving his hitting and arm strength in the off-season.

And he will be one of eight starters returning as the Saxons will try to repeat as MSL champions for the first time.

"This is definitely a goal I wanted to meet since I could remember," D'Agata said. "I wanted to be an early sign so the pressure would be off and I can relax and have a good time this season."