By Elise Adams
Alive Editor
Division III baseball only has about 20 members in this fraternity. Don Schaly of Marietta College in Ohio, the active coach with the highest winning percentage of .813 is a member. So is Eastern Connecticut’s Bill Holowaty. On Saturday, April 20 Southern Maine Coach Ed Flaherty had his 500th career win and joined the club.
“It’s an honor to be in that spot,” said Flaherty.
He reached the milestone in a mere 17 seasons, several seasons sooner than many other 500-game winners.
“We’re here for the kids and that is the reason you coach. It doesn’t mean a whole lot to me personally. My main goal is to get across to kids what life is all about.”
“I don’t want to downplay that I’ve been a major factor,” Flaherty said. “In order to be good over time, you evaluate it over the full course of time. It means we’ve been able to keep it up and not rest on our laurels.”
Flaherty acknowledged many schools have a good team over a period of four or five years, but a solid program relies on a team of coaches that continues to strive for greatness.
Win number 500 came in the day game of a double-header at UMass Dartmouth with a final score of 5-1. Winning pitcher Ryan Adams, senior right-hander, pitched eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts, while first baseman Craig Gureckis and catcher Peter L’Italien led scoring efforts with a home run each and three RBIs between them.
Winning National Championship games in ’91 and ’97 were very significant marks in Flaherty’s win column, but he recalls his first Regional Championship win with the Huskies in ’89 as the most memorable.
“Sometimes the hardest time is the first time,” he said.
Since that first Regional Championship, Flaherty’s Huskies have gone on to the NCAA Division III World Series five times.
Before coaching at Southern Maine, Flaherty coached at Deering High School in Portland. He once said that he would never leave Deering, and now some parents who have seen what he can do with a program worry that he might leave USM for greener pastures.
“Parents often ask me [if I will leave USM]. I have been here 16 years. I live in Portland, I grew up in Portland. My kids are a big factor, one of the reasons I stay here. You can never say never, but I’m happy where I’m at,” he said.
Flaherty has coached roughly 150 students during his career at USM.
“Some are stars, some are All-Americans, and some made it to major league baseball. They’re each special and that keeps you going. I thank the kids for their talent. They went out and did it.”
With what has the road to 500 wins been paved?
“Perseverance, strong will, competitiveness, keeping the juices flowing over 17 years. I have the same passion today as I did 17 years ago, but maybe a little more patience.”