Player of the Year awards are usually given to power hitters or players who rack up staggering offensive numbers. Pitchers don’t usually win them.

But Husson College senior righthander Mark Hreben did just that and Husson Coach John Kolasinski said his ace certainly deserved to be named the Player of the Year for NAIA-New England.

“This was his most dominant year. He has seven of our 15 wins,” said Kolasinski who also pointed out that Hreben is 6-0 in his career in playoff games.

His only loss came to RPI, ranked eighth in the last NCAA Division III poll, on Husson’s Florida trip.

Hreben will enter Wednesday’s NAIA Northeast Regional Tournament at the Mansfield Complex Field in Bangor with a 7-1 record, a 2.30 earned run average and 90 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings. He walked 38 and allowed only nine extra-base hits including just one homer. He surrendered 43 hits.

Still, the Smithfield native and Skowhegan High School product said he was surprised by the honor.

“I never expected it,” said Hreben. “I never even thought about making the all-district team.”

Hreben has always had a live fastball. He also has a change-up and he had been throwing a curve until two weeks ago.

But, two weeks ago, he finally found a comfortable grip on his slider and that has become his breaking pitch. And it has been an overpowering pitch.

“My coach in the Northeast Collegiate League last summer, David Perno, showed me a few different grips. He said there was more than one way to throw a slider. I finally found [a grip] when I pitched against [University of Maine at] Farmington two weeks ago and I have confidence in it now,” said Hreben, who pitched for Cortland (N.Y.).

He said his curve had been too slow and it gave hitters time to adjust to it.

“He has a real good slider,” said Husson catcher Jeff Fogg. “He throws it as hard as most pitchers throw their fastballs.”

“His slider has made a big difference,” said Kolasinski.

Hreben’s slider looks like his fastball but, at the last second, it breaks down and many hitters either swing and miss or pound it into the ground.

Hreben’s fastball hits the mid- to upper-80s on the radar gun and has been clocked as high as 92 miles an hour, according to Fogg.

Hreben also said he has become a smarter pitcher this year.

“He has had better location,” concurred Fogg.

The University of Southern Maine will be the top seed and will host the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional beginning Thursday at Towers Field in Gorham. No. 2 Brandeis, 24-11, and No. 3 Bridgewater State, 25-8, will open the tourney at noon with 26-9-1 USM and No. 4 Eastern Connecticut State, 25-12, squaring off at 3:30.

USM has been led by 1B-DH Ritchie White [.413-9 homers-24 runs batted in], 3B Tony Miner [.398-6-38] and 1B-DH Jason Crepeau [.365-10-38] along with starters Jason Jensen [6-1,3.17 ERA] and RH Shawn Leger [2-1, 2.22] and relief ace Kyle Kennison [3-2, 4 saves, 1.64 ERA, 36 strikeouts in 22 innings].