Othello's Dominique got game; ready to get to work

Rodney Harwood/Hagadone Newspaper Group - Othello graduate Dominique Martinez is headed to the University of Hawai'i next fall on a softball scholarship.

by Rodney Harwood Hagadone Newspaper Group
| June 13, 2017 1:00 AM

OTHELLO — There, on the official athletics website of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, big as life, is a picture of Othello pitcher Dominique Martinez. It’s been there a couple of years now, but Martinez moved one step closer to living the dream with an ocean view.

The Othello pitcher actually signed her National Letter of Intent to play softball at the University of Hawai’i last year as a junior. The Rainbow Warrior coaching staff discovered Martinez while she was playing summer ball in Colorado with the Washington Angels 18 Gold club team. Things fell into place and she locked in early to go play NCAA Division I ball for head coach Bob Coolen in the Mountain West Conference.

“It has its rainy days, but the weather really appealed to me,” she said with a smile. “When it rains there it gets hotter and you can still walk around in your shorts. Here it’s always cold in the winter, so I thought about playing somewhere warm.”

Martinez has seen her share of Washington state accolades, anywhere from CWAC player of the year, all-state, to Tri-Cities Herald all-softball teams’ most valuable player. She’s played on four state tournament teams and was a huge part of the 2016 team that won the program’s fourth state title.

“Dominique is a hard throwing righty, who has a nice rise ball and will challenge opposing hitters,” Coolen said on the school’s website. “She is also very versatile and is able to also play other positions at second, first and in the outfield as well. She’s a solid 3-4-5-type hitter.”

Martinez finished up her high school career at the 2A state tournament and will turn her efforts to improving to increase her value at the next level.

“Right now I’m in the mid-60s (mph) with my fastball on a good day and I feel I should be in the 70’s, so I’ll need to work on my strength,” she said. “I will get into the weight room, I’m sure they’ll have a weight training program for me. Whatever they have for me, I’m ready to get to work.”

The Othello right-hander is also pretty fair with the bat, finishing her junior season with a .584 batting average and hitting over .500 her senior season, hitting out of the four hole. She figures if she can keep up with the bat, they’ll find a place for her in the lineup in Hawai’i.

“I need to be selective and make sure that I’m swinging at a good pitch,” she said. “They’ll be throwing harder and the breaking stuff will be tough. But I think I’ll fit right in because I love a challenge.”

Her next stop includes beautiful sunsets with a beach, but Dominique Martinez intends to shake things up in paradise.