It is not always easy to stand out from the crowd, especially when you are on a team seemingly destined for a deep playoff run.

VC’s Ryan Domingue, though, managed to distinguish himself on the hill, in the field and at the plate this season to earn All-Parish MVP.

“If he doesn’t have the year he has, we don’t do what we did,” said VC head coach Danny McMurtry of his senior multitasker, who helped lead his team to a quarterfinal playoff berth.

Domingue took command of the starting duties for the Eagle when team ace Mark LaPorte succumbed to back injury at the start of District 8-1A play and never flinched. He went 9-2 with a 1.82 ERA in 69 1/3 innings for his team. He struck out 51 while walking just 13.

“I had some butterflies at first,” said Domingue of his being tasked with shouldering the load on the hill. “But, Stephan (Guidry) told me he feels confident with me out there and that made me settle down and feel more confident from the start.”

When not pitching, he generally played third base. At both positions, Domingue compiled a .966 fielding percentage in 31 games this year.

At the plate, he hit at a .305 clip, notching five doubles and four home runs while driving in 24 runs and scoring 17.

Domingue, 18, the son of Danny and Vanessa Domingue of the community of Andrew near Kaplan, started playing baseball at the age of 4.

He credited those formative years of playing ball with his dad and his brother Daniel, 27, as being critical to the success he has found on the diamond.

He moved on to Mt. Carmel in middle school and has been a VC guy ever since.

“I love it,” he said of his soon-to-be alma mater. “It’s a very good family atmosphere where everybody knows everybody.

“I really don’t want to graduate. It’s crazy how much I’m going to miss it.”

Still, it comes time for every young one to leave the nest at some point, and for Domingue, that entails a transition to college baseball. He has been given the opportunity to play collegiate baseball at LSU-Eunice this fall. Should he impress, he will possibly make the regular roster to play for the Bengals in the spring of 2013. It’s not a given, but it is a chance.

“I’m looking forward to playing at the next level,” he said. “All I’ve ever wanted to do is pitch... I’ve always loved it.”

Domingue is a sidearmed pitcher, dropping into a slot and delivering a, at times, nasty tailing fastball. It is not overpowering, but it is effective.

“When I was younger, coaches would try to have me deliver from over the top,” he laughed. “But for some reason, I would always sling back into it.

“I’m not a radar guy. Coach Mac (McMurtry) let me go back to it because he figured, with the ball movement, it’d be hard to hit.”

Domingue said he felt he got stronger from his junior to senior seasons, and credits VC pitching coach Jerrod Duhon with his progress.

“Without his help, I don’t think I could do anything I did this year,” he said of his a senior campaign that included a two-hit shutout of Class 4A state champion Teurlings.

Domingue said he will major in kinesiology in college and hopes to become an athletic trainer.

Joining Domingue as a pitcher on the All-Parish first team is his teammate, Mark LaPorte, who went 5-0 with a sparkling .98 ERA in 35 2/3 innings this season.

NV’s Colby Roy easily earned a nod on the hill thanks to a 6-3 record with a 2.20 ERA. He struck out 62 while walking 29 in 57 1/3 innings. Roy also batted .281 with eight doubles and 22 RBIs and was tabbed 9-3A All-District MVP.

The final All-Parish pitcher’s spot goes to Kaplan’s Trey Choate, who went 5-2 with a 2.51 ERA in District 9-3A play this season.

The first-team catcher is VC’s Aaron David, who batted .327 with eight doubles and 21 RBIs in his senior campaign.

Erath sophomore Brett Delcambre gets the All-Parish spot at first base thanks to a .400 average with nine doubles and 17 RBIs on the year.

At second base is VC’s Blair Landry, who gets his second-straight All-Parish nod after hitting .417 with six doubles, a triple and five homers this year. He drove in 26 runs and scored 36 en route to an 8-1A All-District MVP.

Erath’s Coy Clostio hit .462 with five home runs, eight doubles, a triple and 18 RBIs to get the call at third base.

At shortstop is VC leather flasher Etienne Trahan, who hit .323 with six doubles, a triple and four home runs this year.

In the All-Parish outfield goes Delcambre senior Christian Umphries, who batted .407 while going 16-of-18 stealing bases this year and made first-team All-District in 6-2A.

VC centerfielder Ryan David earned a spot in the outfield after hitting .340 with 18 RBIs and 25 runs scored this year.

The final outfield spot goes to Erath’s Cole Bourque, who batted .403 with five doubles, two triples, 15 RBIs and 13 stolen bases for the Bobcats.

AHS junior lefty Ross Duhon earned a utility spot after hitting .385 with 14 RBIs, four home runs, five doubles and three triples for the Wildcats.

NV’s Trey Broussard earned a utility spot on the first team thanks to a .389 average with five homers, 32 RBIs and 22 runs at the plate. He also went 6-3 with a 1.82 ERA on the hill.

Another NV Patriot, Landon Dupuy, gets a first-team utility spot after hitting .386 with four homers, 15 RBIs and 37 runs scored, while his teammate Donald Comeaux gets a utility nod for hitting .253 with 12 RBIs and going 6-1 with a 1.57 ERA in 75 2/3 innings pitched in his freshman campaign.

The final utility spot goes to Delcambre senior Seth Verret, who batted .439 on the year.

As coach of the year, the 2012 selection is NV’s Jeremy Trahan, who led his team to a District 9-3A championship and a third-straight playoff berth in 2012.

All-Parish Baseball 2012

First Team

Ryan Domingue .............................. Pitcher ................................ VC ........................................ Senior

Trey Choate .................................... Pitcher ............................ Kaplan ...................................... Senior

Colby Roy ........................................ Pitcher ................................ NV ........................................ Senior

Mark LaPorte ................................. Pitcher ................................ VC ........................................ Senior

Aaron David .................................. Catcher ................................ VC ........................................ Senior

Brett Delcambre .......................... First Base ............................ Erath ................................ Sophomore

Blair Landry ................................. Second Base ......................... VC ......................................... Senior

Coy Clostio .................................... Third Base ......................... Erath ..................................... Junior

Etienne Trahan ............................. Shortstop ............................. VC ........................................ Senior

Christian Umphries ....................... Outfield ........................... Delcambre ............................... Senior

Ryan David ..................................... Outfield ............................... VC ....................................... Senior

Cole Bourque .................................. Outfield ............................ Erath ...................................... Senior

Ross Duhon ..................................... Utility .............................. Abbeville ................................ Junior

Trey Broussard ............................... Utility ................................. NV ....................................... Senior

Landon Dupuy ................................ Utility ................................. NV ....................................... Senior

Seth Verret ...................................... Utility ............................ Delcambre ............................... Senior

Donald Comeaux ............................. Utility ................................ NV .................................... Freshman

MVP ........................................... Ryan Domingue ..................Vermilion Catholic ................. Senior

Coach of the Year ...................... Jeremy Trahan .................... North Vermilion

Second Team

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Hunter Dooley ............................. Pitcher .............................. Delcambre ........................... Sophomore

Kevin Guilbeaux .......................... Pitcher .................................. Erath .................................... Junior

Jimmy Jordan ............................... Catcher ................................ Erath .................................... Junior

Trevor Derouen .............................. Infield .............................. Gueydan ................................. Junior

Brylan Suire ................................... Infield ................................... NV ...................................... Junior

Drew Primeaux .............................. Infield ................................. Erath ................................ Freshman

Boyd Denais ................................... Infield ................................... NV ...................................... Junior

Teal Richard ................................. Outfield ................................ Kaplan ................................. Senior

Aaron Romero .............................. Outfield ................................. Erath ................................... Junior

Blaythe Painter ............................ Outfield ................................... NV ...................................... Senior

Brett Stelly .................................... Utility ............................... Abbeville ................................. Junior

Kade Thevis ................................... Utility ................................ Gueydan ............................... Junior

Alex Barras ................................... Utility ............................... Delcambre .......................... Sophomore

John Eric Clostio ........................... Utility ................................ Abbeville ............................... Senior

Scott Russo .................................... Utility ................................ Kaplan .............................. Sophomore

Brock Clark ................................... Utility ................................ Abbeville ............................... Junior