Pitchers showing promise Staff helps Bears gain solid start

ORONO – When the University of Maine baseball team left Orono March 8 for its southern swing, developing a pitching staff hit hard by graduation and major league signings was the main concern for coach Paul Kostacopoulos.

The Black Bears returned with a solid 9-5 record – three of the losses came against Clemson, which is now ranked No. 1 in the country – and the largely untested UMaine staff has shown promise.

And the Bears were good in the other phases of the game. UMaine hit .324 as a team, averaging 10.7 runs and 11.9 hits per game behind Alain Picard, who batted .400 before being sidelined after nine games with a pulled hamstring.

Defense also was a strong point as the Bears committed only 14 errors in as many games. They turned eight double plays.

For Kostacopoulos, the key for UMaine is to take the confidence generated from the trip, keep working hard and get better.

“We really have to recognize some of the things that we have to do to become a successful team,” Kostacopoulos said. “I think there’s pieces of success everywhere, but we still have to put it together and that’s the hard part.”

UMaine pitchers logged a 5.71 earned run average, which was severely inflated after the Clemson series. The staff struck out 104 and walked 50 in 112 innings.

Sophomore righthanders Mike MacDonald of Camden (2-1, 3.71) and Mike Collar of Scarborough (1-1, 5.21) were steady, while junior Rich Laganiere (2-1, 6.91) held his own in his first action in two years.

“I’m a lot less apprehensive about [Laganiere] now than I was two weeks ago,” Kostacopoulos said of the lefty, who missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow. “I feel better every time he pitches.”

Freshman righthander Paul Bruder (1-0), who enrolled in January, leads the team in ERA at 3.21, while classmate Scott Robinson (1-0, 4.50) and junior righty Adam Labelle (1-1, 5.27) showed they are capable of being key contributors.

Ryan Harris, Greg Creek of Chelsea and Aaron Smith also pitched for the Bears on the trip.

“I still think we have a depth problem. That was not solved down south,” Kostacopoulos said. “We need nine guys that can go do the job and we’re not quite there yet.”

At the plate, junior captain Jesse Carlton was among the leaders with a .370 average, three home runs and 10 RBIs. Biddeford’s Joe Drapeau checks in at .365 with a team-leading four homers and 20 RBIs, while soph shortstop Mark Reichley batted .364 with 10 RBIs.

Sophomore outfielder Simon Williams of Portland boasts a .352 average that includes three homers and 13 RBIs. He also stole seven bases in seven attempts.

Senior captain Mike Ross hit .291 but smacked four home runs and was second on the club with 19 RBIs. He also stole a team-high nine bases in 10 tries.

“I think we can be better offensively,” Kostacopoulos said.

UMaine’s aggressiveness on the basepaths was evident as the Bears successfully stole 30 in 36 attempts. They had 53 steals last season.

“I was really happy with that, because it’s something that we committed to,” said Kostacopoulos, who explained the Bears must cut down on strikeouts and start picking up runners in scoring position more consistently.

Among the pleasant surprises were freshmen Aaron Izaryk and Mike Ferriggi.

Izaryk, a catcher, was pressed into duty after the injury to Picard. He hit .286 with eight RBIs.

Ferriggi, a middle infielder, played in eight games and posted a .308 average with seven RBIs.

“We found out that Izaryk and Mike Ferriggi can play and those are things that we didn’t know two weeks ago,” Kostacopoulos said.

The Bears head back on the road for non-league doubleheaders Friday and Saturday at New York Tech on Long Island.