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Onofrio Lives His Dream of Playing Baseball for North Haven

Dom Onofrio was always a fixture at the field when his older brother played for the North Haven baseball squad. After experiencing the atmosphere at practices and games, Dom knew that playing for Head Coach Bob DeMayo and the Indians was his dream. Several years later, Dom can say he realized that dream as he walks out of North Haven High School.

“Just playing for Bob—hundreds have played for him—he’s a legend in this town, and it’s just an honor to play for him,” says Dom, who was a senior captain this year. “When I would watch my brother play varsity baseball, I knew I wanted to wear a North Haven baseball jersey like my brother did. He wore No. 9, and I wore No. 9 until I got to high school and an upperclassman had it, so I took No. 6 for my career. The most important thing was wearing North Haven across my chest.”

Dom’s passion for baseball worked in tandem with his skills and helped him earn him varsity playing time at third base as a sophomore. Dom didn’t care that it was his first time playing third; he was just happy to be on the field.

“Growing up, I was always a middle infielder. I never played third base until my sophomore year, but the first game of the season, Coach DeMayo asked me if I wanted to play,” Dom says. “I said, ‘Yeah, of course I do.’ Why would I say no? He told me to start at third base, and I started every game at third that season.”

Although Dom was new to the varsity ranks, he still played an important role while helping the Indians win a state title when they notched a 3-2 victory over East Lyme in the 2015 Class L final.

“It was fun and exciting. I knew my role on that team, as I was the low man on the totem pole. I didn’t say much. Just followed my leaders, who led us on a great Cinderella run,” Dom says. “My job was to bunt. I was in the two hole, and I had 20 or 25 sacrifice bunts on the season. That was my only job. I just tried to do my part to get the runner over to second.”

Coach DeMayo knew that third base wasn’t Dom’s natural position, but he was impressed with how Dom took on the challenge, and provided a solid glove at the hot corner.

“That year I was looking for somebody that could play different positions and just get to the point where they were consistent in making the routine plays. At that time, he didn’t have a strong arm, but he anchored that position, and made the plays he had to make,” DeMayo says. “He did nothing but get bigger, stronger, and better. This year, he was a force toward the end of the year, and he was an excellent leader.”

As a captain in his recent senior season, Dom helped North Haven go on another exhilarating run on its way to making the Class L championship game for the second time in three years. Dom split time between second and third base throughout the campaign, batting .284 on 21 hits to go with 12 runs scored and 10 RBI.

“It was an honor. I had fun with my guys,” says Dom. “We wanted to get back to the state championship. We got there, but we came up a little bit short.”

Although Dom’s high school baseball career is finished, he’s still playing for the North Haven Senior Legion baseball team this summer. Looking back at his time with the Indians, Dom feels pleased about what he and his teammates achieved.

“I’m so grateful to play where I played. I loved playing for my town with the guys that I played with,” says Dom. “I had 70-plus varsity starts and enjoyed every minute.”