By Elise Adams
Alive Editor
Southern Maine baseball is one of the ten best teams in the country. They were named one of the top five programs in the country in the 90s by Baseball America Magazine. They have played in the NCAA championships every year since 1986.
So what do you have for us this year, Coach Flaherty?
Life after Toomey
The team has lost four key position players to graduation. All-American shortstop Pat Toomey, All-New England center fielder Shaun Richardson, .400 hitter first baseman Jody Curcuru, and clutch hitter third baseman Jason Dority are gone. The infield cleats are big and need to be filled.
The infield is especially crucial for the pitching staff. Good, gritty pitchers they may be, but not necessarily strike out pitchers.
“It has not been a tremendous recruiting year,” reported Flaherty. However, a few key transfers from other schools or sports have filled out this year’s roster well.
Fresh faces in the infield
Portland native first baseman Derek Meader recently transferred from Northeastern, and outfielder Chris Waymon transferred from Div. I school Seton Hall.
Pitcher Erik Kent played hockey for the Huskies this year, and was a pleasant surprise for Flaherty in spring training this year.
Although he had an off-year last year, Craig Gureckis has looked very strong this spring with hopes of returning to his near .400 average the season before last.
Greg Stacey will be the only freshman in the field this year, and as a member of first team All-State his senior year at Fryeburg Academy last year, this rookie looks promising.
Looking forward
“We are a Div. I caliber team,” said Flaherty. “It will be an interesting year, but I never make predictions.
We need guys to step up and be leaders. You go through ups and downs. It is a game of failure, and things depend on how you handle it.”
What will be the determining factor this season?
“Our defense. We have to make sure our pitching can handle a few errors.” Life after Toomey. McCarthy, those certainly are mighty big cleats.
Alive Editor Elise Adams can be contacted at [email protected]