Bears’ Turner a terror at plate this year> Cycle may be a UMaine first

Rex Turner was a consistent hitter in his first two seasons on the University of Maine baseball team.

The slugger from Augusta brought a solid .277 career batting average into his junior season after leading the Black Bears with eight home runs and 82 total bases on his way to second-team all-conference honors last spring.

Less than halfway through the 1997 campaign, the rugged outfielder has emerged a more productive hitter. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder has pushed his average to .376, nearly matching his ’96 output for RBIs, runs, and extra-base hits with 30 games still to play.

Turner broke loose Saturday, hitting for the cycle in Maine’s 20-6 victory over Drexel. In five games last weekend, he went 12-for-22 (.545) with 10 RBIs, improving his average by 59 points.

Turner’s cycle effort sent UMaine assistant sports information director Joe Roberts scrambling in search of the last Black Bear to hit for the cycle. As of Tuesday, he hadn’t found one.

Turner’s seven RBIs in the Drexel game rank second on UMaine’s all-time list. Only Billy Reynolds’ four-homer, nine-RBI game against St. John’s in a 1986 NCAA Regional game was better.

UMaine assistant coach Mike Coutts said a couple of minor adjustments have helped Turner become a better hitter.

“The biggest thing that happened was Rex agreed that there needed to be a change made, and he’s made it,” Coutts said. “We just widened his feet out so he’s taking a smaller stride. One of the problems he had was, he lunged or jumped into every pitch, so he got killed on breaking pitches.”

The results of the adjustments have been measureable. Turner, who had 48 hits in 1996, leads the Bears with 32. He had 17 extra-base hits a year ago, but already has posted a team-high 13 this spring.

“It feels comfortable and it feels like it’s easier for me to stay in on the ball and wait longer,” Turner said of the adjustments.

“Most of my problems come from my being too anxious to hit, jumping out at the ball with a bigger stride, and getting my shoulder and head out a little bit,” Turner said. “I’m trying to keep my hands back and see the ball longer.”

Kostacopoulos wants Turner to blend his free-swinging style with a more discerning eye at the plate.

“I think in order to be a successful hitter you need to be aggressive,” Kostacopoulos said. “I think Rex needs to define his strike zone a little bit better.”

With the increased production, Turner also has cut down on strikeouts. He leads the team, fanning once every five at-bats. However, Turner did not strike out last weekend.

“Twelve of those strikeouts were in the first week in Florida,” said Maine coach Paul Kostacopoulos. “He’s swinging the bat very confidently.”

Turner was quick to praise Coutts and Kostacopoulos for putting more emphasis on the mechanics and mental approach to hitting during practice.

“We have spent more time, more structured time, on hitting whereas before it might be more time left on your own,” Turner said.

“I respect coach Coutts and coach Kosty and their ideas on hitting a lot,” he added. “I always had a little bit of frustration, feeling that I could hit a little more consistently than I had. You’ve got to be open to change.”

Turner isn’t the only hitter who has benefited from an increased emphasis on hitting. T.J. Sheedy, Jeff Longo and Nick Caiazzo all are on a pace to surpass their production from last season.

“To Paul’s credit, he has given me a lot of time to work with the kids on hitting,” Coutts said. “The big thing is, the kids feel good about it and that’s important. They have a lot of confidence right now.”