Youthful Black Bears ready for Florida trip

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Paul Kostacopoulos doesn’t know quite what to expect Saturday when his University of Maine baseball team takes the field for the first time against Dayton University in Miami.

The Black Bears depart for Florida Friday without an established No. 1 starting pitcher and needing to replace a big chunk of offensive production lost to graduation.

There are 16 underclassmen, including 12 sophomores, on the Bears’ 24-man travel roster. That could result in some inconsistency as the youthful squad UMaine plays 14 games in 13 days.

“This is a tough team to read,” said Kostacopoulos, in his third season as the Bears boss. “This is a really young team and I feel good about that. It’s an exciting group because they’re going to be something some day.”

UMaine’s schedule includes nationally ranked Florida Atlantic, NCAA tourney entry Monmouth (N.J.), Atlantic-10 member Dayton and Pittsburgh of the Big East.

“It’s a pretty solid schedule,” Kostacopoulos said. “We’re going to earn our wins.”

Mainstays on the ballclub include senior catcher Kregg Jarvais of Skowhegan, who passed up a minor league deal with Atlanta to play his final season at UMaine.

“We need him. He’s really a rock back there. He’s durable,” praised Kostacopoulos. “Quite frankly, he singlehandedly defeats the opposition’s running game because of his [throwing] reputation.”

Jarvais, who appears to have recovered well after surgery on his right elbow, is the Bears’ top returning home run hitter (6) and third-leading RBI man (30).

Other proven veterans include senior third baseman Brian Poire (.373, 4 HR, 39 RBIs last season) and junior second baseman Julian Bracali (.342, 3 HR, 31 RBIs). Bracali was limited to mostly a designated hitter role last season because of a shoulder injury, but has rebounded well.

“Julian’s a superior defensive player,” Kostacopoulos said. “We’re a much better team with him in there defensively.”

The bulk of UMaine’s experience is on the mound, where only Detroit Tigers draft pick and 1998 ace Tom Koutrouba and sophomore Jason Hall (left school) departed.

Former Narraguagus High standout Rob Worcester, a sophomore righthander from Columbia Falls, is among five players in the initial starting rotation. Worcester was 2-0 last season with a save and a 5.29 earned run average, working mostly in relief.

“Rob Worcester has really come on and improved,” Kostacopoulos said. “One thing that I think we’ve helped him with is he’s no longer a curveball guy, he’s a slider guy.”

Kris Ehmke, a righthanded transfer from Hill College in Texas who has been drafted twice, and freshman Rusty Tucker, a lefty from Gloucester, Mass., are expected to make an immediate impact. They’re bolstered by junior righty Eric O’Brien (3-6, 6.75 ERA), who is coming off shoulder surgery, and sophomore lefthander Jim Bailin, who was 2-3 with a 7.49 ERA in 1998.

“I think Rusty’s the real deal. We’ll just have to see how quickly he can adjust to pitching on this level,” Kostacopoulos said. “And I thought Jim Bailin was our best pitcher at the end of last season.”

The immediate insertion of Tucker and Ehmke should give the Bears more depth. Junior righties Jon Dickinson (4-2, 5.19) and Jared Cochran of Norridgewock (2-2, 6.26, 1 save) have experience as starters and relievers.

Sophomore lefty Tom Morelli (2-0, 2.25) and righthanded classmate Rick Hewey (1-5, 8.35) got substantial work last spring, while soph righty Matt Truman, a converted infielder, has shown promise.

“Most of these guys have had substantial experience, so we’re going to be able to use our bullpen,” Kostacopoulos said.

There are two new faces in the infield. Lefthanded-hitting Jon Hambleton is penciled in at first base, while freshman Quin Peel, a junior college transfer, is the shortstop. Senior Bryan Harvie of South Portland (.234) will serve as the utility man.

Sophomore Chris Domurat could be used as a DH or as a backup first baseman or catcher. Senior Marc Pantazis adds depth at catcher.

A sophomore and two freshmen will replace three graduated outfield starters, who combined for a .337 average, 20 homers, 117 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.

Second-year man Brandon Brewer of North Yarmouth (.281, 3 HR, 10 RBI) takes over in right field, while freshmen Brett Ouellette and Mike Ross get the nods in center and left, respectively. Josh McCurdy, another first-year player, also will play.

Sophomore Keith Genest of Augusta could see time as the DH against lefthanded pitching.

University of Maine 1999 Baseball Schedule February 27 – vs. Dayton, at Miami, 5 p.m. 28 – vs. St. Bonaventure, at Homestead, Fla., 2 p.m. March

1 – vs. Northwood, at Homestead, Fla., noon

2 – vs. Dayton, at Homestead, Fla., 10 a.m.

4 – vs. St. John’s, at Boca Raton, Fla., 11 a.m.

5 – vs. Fla. Atlantic, at Boca Raton, Fla., 7 p.m.

6 – vs. Monmouth, at Boca Raton, Fla., 7 p.m.

7 – vs. Monmouth, at Boca Raton, Fla., 10 a.m.

9 – vs. La Salle, at Boca Raton, Fla., 10 a.m. 10 – vs. St. Peter’s, at Homestead, Fla., 2:30 p.m. 11 – vs. La Salle, at Boca Raton, Fla., 11 p.m. 12 – vs. Pittsburgh, at Homestead, Fla., 2 p.m. 13 – vs. Manhattan, at Homestead, Fla., 10 a.m. 13 – vs. Rhode Island, at Homestead, Fla., 2 p.m. 20 – at Providence (2), noon 21 – at Providence, noon 26 – at Columbia, noon 27 – at Pace (2), noon 28 – at Pace, noon April

2 – at Hofstra (2), noon

3 – at Hofstra (2), noon 10 – at Hartford (2), noon 11 – at Hartford (2), noon 14 – Colby, 5 p.m. 17 – Towson (2), noon 18 – Towson (2), noon 21 – Husson, 6 p.m. 24 – Northeastern (2), noon 25 – Northeastern (2), noon 27 – Husson, 6 p.m. May

1 – at Drexel (2), noon

2 – at Drexel (2), 11 a.m.

5 – Bowdoin, 6 p.m.

8 – Delaware (2), 3 p.m.

9 – Delaware (2), 11 a.m. 11 – Southern Maine, 7 p.m. 13 – at Massachusetts, 3 p.m. 15 – Vermont, noon 16 – Vermont, noon 20 – America East Championship, at Newark, Del. 21 – America East Championship, at Newark, Del. 22 – America East Championship, at Newark, Del.