ORONO – The University of Maine baseball team is building off one of its most successful seasons in recent years. Coach Paul Kostacopoulos’ Black Bears posted an impressive 36-15 record on their way to a second-place America East finish last year, then went 0-2 in postseason.

But the team appears to have generated momentum heading into 2002. The challenge for this UMaine team, which opens its season with a Saturday doubleheader at Maryland-Eastern Shore, is to rebuild its pitching staff.

The Bears lost Rusty Tucker to the San Diego Padres, while seniors Matt Truman, Simon Stoner and Kris Ehmke completed their careers. That quartet posted 19 wins and combined for a 4.41 earned run average last season.

UMaine also lost pitcher Steve Nelson, a fifth-round pick of the Dodgers, and sophomore Ryan Foley is out for the season after shoulder surgery.

“You throw all those things together and it adds up to having an inexperienced staff,” said Kostacopoulos, the 2001 America East and New England Coach of the Year.

The Bears will rely heavily upon sophomore righthanders Mike Collar of Scarborough and Mike MacDonald of Camden. Collar was named the AE Rookie of the Year after going 8-0 with a 3.55 ERA. MacDonald was 5-2 with a 3.78 ERA.

Last year they were pitching behind two seniors. Now, they must set the pitching tone themselves.

“I think both of them understand and realize, because they’re competitive people, that they have to be better,” Kostacopoulos said. “They’ve got to be [Nos.] 1 and 2 this year. We’ll see if they can jump into these roles and be as successful as they were last year.”

Behind them, UMaine will rely mostly on unproven pitchers. Redshirt sophomore Rich Laganiere returns after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow. He is the lone lefthander on the staff and has pitched only 21 innings in a UMaine uniform.

Freshman righties Paul Bruder and Scott Robinson, both from Ontario, are expected to compete for the other starting positions.

Junior Adam Labelle was steady out of the bullpen last year (2-2, 4.28 ERA) and he’ll be joined by improved sophomore Ryan Harris and freshman Greg Creek of Chelsea, who starred at Maranacook of Readfield. Frosh Aaron Smith also will pitch and position players Simon Williams and Joe Drapeau could be used in a pinch.

“We’re definitely thin and we’ve got to get contributions out of everybody,” said Kostacopoulos, who knows he must allow the pitchers time to settle in. “We have to be very patient with them. These are people who have to pitch for us.”

The staff will get its first test during the southern trip, which features a mix of tough teams (second-ranked Clemson and NCAA tourney entries Furman, Bethune-Cookman and Maryland-Baltimore County), along with the likes of Florida A&M, Coppin State, Long Island and Iowa.

By the time UMaine opens its league schedule April 13-14 at Northeastern, the pitching situation should be clearer.

The Bears boast experience and talent in the field. Drapeau, a senior third baseman and catcher from Biddeford, was a first-team All-America East and All-New England pick after batting .333 with 12 home runs and 51 runs batted in. He is coming off ankle surgery to repair ligament damage.

Junior Alain Picard (.333, 8 HR, 39 RBIs), who was named the preseason conference player of the year by Baseball America, will do most of the catching. He was used mostly as a designated hitter last season while suffering with tendinitis in his throwing elbow.

UMaine is blessed with speed and experience in the outfield, which will be patrolled by junior CF Mike Livulpi (.328, 16 doubles, 12 stolen bases), LF Williams of Portland (.288, 18 RBIs, 10 SB), RF Mike Ross (.293, 24 RBIs), a senior captain, and junior CF Aaron Young of Augusta (.273, 25 RBIs, 13 SB).

“Defensively, it’s the best outfield I’ve ever coached,” Kostacopoulos said.

Williams is the only righthanded hitter in the group, which will form the nucleus of the Bears’ base-stealing corps. Increased emphasis on making contact and striking out less should help UMaine score more runs.

“We’ve got to cut down on strikeouts [320 in 2001] and pick up runners in scoring position,” Kostacopoulos said. “I think it’s having better pitch selection, understanding counts and what the guys are trying to throw to you.”

The Bears should be strong at the corners with Drapeau seeing most of the action at third. Freshman Adam Houston and junior Brett Ouellette back him up.

At first base, junior captain Jesse Carlton (.290, 13 RBIs) and classmate Pat Tobin (.331, 25 RBIs) are both likely to contribute. Carlton, a righthanded batter, is rebounding from surgery related to a prior bout with testicular cancer, but is well on his way back.

Tobin, who hits lefthanded, was a solid performer last season.

The middle of the diamond will be manned by Reynolds (.317, 17 RBIs) at second and sophomore Mark Reichley (.221, 26 RBIs) at shortstop. They’ll be backed up by promising freshman Mike Ferrigi.

The infield defense should be solid, yet unspectacular.

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE BASEBALL

2002 SCHEDULE

March

9 ? at Maryland-Eastern Shore (2), noon

10 ? at Coppin State, 7 p.m.

11 ? at Maryland-Baltimore County, 3 p.m.

13 ? vs. Long Island, at Daytona Beach, Fla., 2 p.m.

14 ? at Bethune-Cookman, 7 p.m.

15 ? vs. Pennsylvania, at Daytona Beach, Fla., 7 p.m.

16 ? vs. Nebraska-Omaha, at Daytona Beach, Fla., 2 p.m.

17 ? vs. Iowa, at Daytona Beach, Fla., 10 a.m.

18 ? at Florida A&M, 7 p.m.

19 ? at Florida A&M, 2 p.m.

20 ? at Furman, 4 p.m.

21 ? at Clemson, 7:15 p.m.

22 ? at Clemson, 7:15 p.m.

23 ? at Clemson, 1 p.m.

29 ? at New York Tech (2), noon

30 ? at New York Tech (2), noon

April

6 ? at Pace (2), noon

7 ? at Pace (2), noon

13 ? at Northeastern* (2), noon

14 ? at Northeastern* (2), noon

16 ? Colby, 6 p.m.

17 ? Husson, 4 p.m.

20 ? at Vermont* (2), noon

21 ? at Vermont* (2), noon

24 ? at Central Connecticut, 1 p.m.

27 ? Albany* (2), noon

28 ? Albany* (2), noon

May

1 ? at Holy Cross, 3 p.m.

4 ? Hartford* (2), noon

5 ? Hartford* (2), noon

8 ? at Colby, 3 p.m.

11 ? Stony Brook* (2), noon

12 ? Stony Brook* (2), noon

17 ? at Binghamton* (2), 2 p.m.

18 ? at Binghamton* (2), 4 p.m.

23-25 ? America East Tournament, at Orono

*?America East game