QUAKER SPOTLIGHT:  Joe Dooley '02

by Dave Walters

        When Joe Dooley left Guilford after his sophomore year in 2000, he didn’t think he would return.  The school’s financial burden weighed heavy on the promising pitcher and resulted in a transfer to George Mason, which was less expensive and closer to his Chantilly, VA, home.  However, before the end of his junior year at the Division I school he realized he missed the camaraderie and family atmosphere he found at Guilford.  Thanks in part to the savings earned by living at home and attending George Mason, he returned to Guilford for his senior year and turned in one of the most dominating pitching performances in the program’s 110-year history.

Dooley showed how happy he was to be back by winning his first eight decisions and adding four saves in his first 12 appearances.  The right-hander struck out a school-record 14 batters and helped the Quakers past perennial power Ferrum for the first time since 1993.  Dooley claimed an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Player of the Week prize for getting a win and two saves in three league games over a span of two days.  His play lifted Guilford to a school-record 12 ODAC wins and the team’s third league tournament berth in five years.

Minus Dooley and Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ draft choice Chad Coward ’00, Guilford struggled to a 15-24 record in 2001.  The Quakers hit well, but struggled for pitching consistency.  Around the same time, Dooley felt unsettled in his new surroundings and learned George Mason’s management program required an extra year to get his degree.

“Unfortunately I went there and I wasn’t comfortable,” Dooley said.  “The program was great.  The coaches were great.  I had every opportunity.  I was one of their guys that was counted on to pitch, but compared to how I’ve pitched this year, my stuff just wasn’t there last year.”

Dooley stayed in touch with some of his former Guilford teammates and hinted at a possible return.  He recalled the good experience of his first two years at Guilford that included a trip to the 2000 ODAC Tournament.  He knew Guilford had a lot of good players returning in 2002.  He remembered head coach Gene Baker’s willingness to help him get placed with Division I Virginia Tech.  When that didn’t work out, Virginia Tech Coach Chuck Hartman recommended him to George Mason, about 20 minutes from Dooley’s home.

“I think he was treated fairly and well here and had a good experience,” Baker said.  “I think he embraced the opportunity to come back.  It didn’t hurt that Chad got drafted.  There would be scouts that would see him pitch and he wants to play pro ball.”  When Dooley called last summer, Baker encouraged him to come back.

Dooley returned to Guilford with a fresh perspective, additional maturity and confidence that spilled over to the rest of the team.  Baker made him a captain in the fall.

“I think he understands his role as a team leader,” Baker said.  “As a freshman and sophomore he could be more flaky, because Chad was filling the role that he’s filling now.  Chad had to be the more of the mentor kind of person that Joe is now.“

“More than performance, he gives leadership and somebody to look up to,” said fellow senior captain Nick Black, Guilford’s starting catcher.  “Joe has a lot of experience.  Him being on the mound gives us a good chance to win every day.”

As his teammates have confidence in Dooley, Dooley’s Division I experience helped him instill confidence in his teammates.

            “There aren’t a whole lot of Steve Danises (Guilford’s top hitter and career stolen bases leader) in [Division I] baseball,” Dooley said.  “It’s not every day you’re going to see a guy who can run, throw [hard], hit the ball hard.  There are guys on our team that can start for any team that I played against.”

            “He’s made us realize that just because we play Division III doesn’t mean that we’re not as good as people at that level,” said Black.

Dooley hopes to follow in the professional baseball footsteps of Coward and Tony Womack ’92.  With a lively fastball and impressive college record, he should get a chance.  Scouts have watched him throughout the fall and spring and Baker suspects he’ll get that opportunity.

            “I know for a fact they all know he’s out here,” he said.  “Most of them have seen him.  If someone doesn’t get in to see him, they’re not doing their job.”

“I hope I get a chance to play professionally,” Dooley said.  “I’d like to see what I can do with that and still be able to take classes toward my degree because I’ll still have a semester left.”

If a professional baseball career does not develop, Dooley will finish his management degree this fall and hopefully land a job at the Pentagon where he has interned for the past three summers.  In addition to his degree, he will have many good memories of team and individual accomplishments enjoyed as a member of Guilford’s baseball family.