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| Carolina Thunder |
In 2009, Jonathan signed a contract with the Grand Prairie
AirHogs (American Association of Independent Professional Baseball). His debut came on July 12 against the Fort Worth Cats,
going 3-4 with a RBI and a run scored. After being traded to the Wichita Wingnuts in 2010, Jonathan finished the 2010 season
with the Laredo Broncos. The 2011 season was spent playing for the Lake County Fielders, while 2012 was Jon's best year ever
playing for the Fort Worth Cats, hitting .291, with 90 hits, 17 doubles and 30 RBI.
The summer of 2008 had Jonathan
playing for the Carolina Thunder (Fort Mill, SC) of the highly competitive "Southern Collegiate Baseball League." A wood bat
league consisting of seven teams in the Carolinas and eastern Tennessee.
Jonathan ended the season hitting
.368, leading the team in hits (43), doubles (8) and stolen bases (14).
Jonathan was also selected as
the starting 3rd Baseman for the league All-Star game July 12 (Wofford College-Spartanburg, SC), leading his
team with two hits.
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| Final Game at Hornell (July 28) |
Like his
older brother Joshua, Jonathan was given the opportunity to play for the Niagara Falls Power of the New York Collegiate
Baseball League during the summer of 2007. Here is a recent news article highlighting his experience . . .
Published in the Niagara Gazette
(June 18, 2007)
NIAGARA FALLS
— Excuse Jon Dziomba, but the kid can’t help but smile. After going through a sophomore year at Gannon University,
which he termed a “nightmare,” the Williamsville resident is calling his time with the Niagara Power the exact
opposite — “heaven.”
“I love everything about this,” Dziomba said. “I love the
atmosphere, playing against the top players in the country, signing autographs and even having people pay to come and see
you play. It just makes you feel so proud of what you’ve done in your whole life.”
In Dziomba’s case, it’s
always been a dream of his to play in the New York Collegiate Baseball League, just as his older brother Josh had two seasons
ago with the Wayne County Raptors (see below). So Dziomba continued to work hard and earned a spot at second base. “It was
kind of tough because there were a few adjustments that you have to make,” he said. “But I wanted to play.”
And play he has. Dziomba was hitting .325 with 13 hits, seven RBIs and 11 runs scored for the Power at the time of this article.
“I really like how much that kid wants to get better,” Manager Sam Kirby said. “He’s constantly asking
what I thought about a certain play or at-bat.” That kind of attitude will be important as Dziomba continues to develop
as a player, according to Kirby.
Development is one of the key words as Dziomba looks toward the future. “I’m
happy we’re winning more games than at Gannon — that’s for sure, but I’d like to get my name
out there, so scouts can see me and maybe I could play pro ball one day.” Yet again, Dziomba would be following in his
brother’s footsteps.
Niagara
Falls lost their professional baseball team when the Niagara Falls Rapids (New York-Penn League), who were affiliated with
the Detroit Tigers, left after the 1993 season to become the Jamestown Jammers. Baseball has returned
as the Niagara Falls Power played their inaugural season at Sal Maglie Stadium.
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| Wayne County Raptors (2005) |
The New York Collegiate Baseball League, founded in 1978,
is a summer wood bat league sanctioned by the NCAA and partially funded by Major League Baseball.
The league gives college players, who have not yet signed a professional contract, the opportunity
to develop their skills at a higher level of play, gain experience with wood bats and be evaluated by scouts.
Josh was a member of the Wayne County Raptors during the summer of 2005. The Raptors were
one of 12 teams in the New York Collegiate Baseball League, playing at Colburn Park
(Newark, NY). In addition to Wayne County,
the NYCBL consisted of teams from Genesee Valley,
Alfred, Geneva, Hornell, Allegany County,
Mohawk Valley, Watertown,
Saratoga, Amsterdam, Glens Falls
and Plattsburgh.
The Newark Co-Pilots (1968-1979, New York-Penn League) played at Colburn Park as a farm club to Seattle
and Milwaukee.
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| Gannon University (2005) |
Josh was the starting shortstop and lead-off
hitter for Gannon University (Erie, PA) during the 2005 season, leading the team in hits, runs, stolen bases,
sacrifices and walks.
Josh transferred to Gannon from St. Vincent
College (Latrobe, PA) where in 2004 he produced a .358 average, .422 on-base percentage and a .960 fielding percentage
to help the team win the American Mideast Conference North Division Championship and reach the NAIA Region
IX title game.
Amherst Bee (June
7, 2006) - Williamsville native Joshua Dziomba has been selected to the NCAA-GLIAC Baseball All-Academic team
for the 2006 season at Gannon University (Erie, Pa.). This award is presented to the student-athlete who has achieved a minimum
3.0 cumulative grade point average and is a starter for their varsity team. Dziomba, a senior marketing major, was also selected
to the GLIAC baseball All-Conference Team as an Honorable Mention. Dziomba, who played second base and was a co-captain for
the Gannon baseball team with a .353 batting average, led the team in various categories including runs scored, on base percentage,
slugging percentage, hits and total bases.
Josh is second on the all-time "Single Season" hits list with 66 (2006)
and shares various "Top-Ten" records for different offensive and defensive categories.
| Josh & Jon (Gannon Home Game - April 2006) |
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Both Josh and Jon received baseball scholarships
to attend Gannon University (Erie, PA) and both played together during the 2006 season.
| Lauren (in white) |
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| 2005 "Cheetah Travel Team" |
My daughter continued her passion for
volleyball by qualifying for the Western New York "Cheetah Travel Team" and playing for her Mount St. Mary's High School Varsity
Team.
Lauren won the 2005 Varsity "Coaches
Award" in volleyball for her versatility (playing multiple positions) and leadership skills.
The spring semester found Lauren as
starting shortstop for her varsity softball team and was selected as team "captain" for her varsity volleyball team, winning
the "Most Valuable Player" award for the 2006 volleyball season.
Lauren was accepted into the 2006/2007 "National Honor Society"
for her many outstanding academic, leadership and service contributions. Lauren was also awarded the 2007 "Scholar/Athlete"
of the year. Lauren currently attends Canisius College majoring in math.
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| Danni, Lauren, Nicki (November 2006) |
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"It is preoccupation with possessions,
more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly."
Bertrand Russell
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