Bears’ Smith playing key role Freshman leads team in batting

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ORONO – Curt Smith fondly recalls his first visit to Bangor.

It was August 2002 and he was with the contingent from Willemstad, Curacao, that earned its way into the Senior League World Series.

Smith was a key contributor for the team that won the World Series title in 2002 and was a semifinalist in 2003.

“I thought the people were so nice here,” Smith said. “I traveled a lot [playing baseball] and I never found so many nice people like I saw here.”

Since August, Smith has lived 12 miles up the road. This spring, he earned the nod as the starting third baseman for the University of Maine.

Going into Thursday’s 7 p.m. America East tournament game against Vermont, Smith leads the Black Bears with a .349 batting average. He has started 45 games, posting two home runs and 32 RBIs with 12 doubles.

Smith, one of the league’s top rookies, has stolen 10 bases in 12 attempts.

“From an academic, social, and athletic point of view, he’s really been amazing in his adjustment,” said UMaine coach Paul Kostacopoulos.

“If you look at the numbers, he’s done very well,” he added. “I like what he’s done the last couple weeks as far as getting meaningful hits. He’s had some clutch at-bats.”

Smith, who always wears a wide smile, has embraced all the challenges he has encountered at UMaine.

Despite making the transition from living on a tropical island to Orono, having to immerse himself in college studies while speaking a foreign language (English), and adjusting to the rigors of Division I baseball, Smith has excelled in his home away from home.

“It was hard the first couple months, but now I’m used to it,” Smith said.

The hardest part was adjusting to the weather.

“At home, it’s hot all the time,” Smith said. “In the fall [here] it was cold. I wore my sweatshirt and a jacket on it. [The winter] was the worst time ever. I was so cold.”

With the help of his new-found teammates and friends, the 5-foot-10, 200-pounder has adjusted to living in Maine.

“I made a lot of friends here,” Smith said. “All my teammates, they’re nice guys.”

Upon his arrival, Smith immediately went to work improving his language skills. English ranks fourth on the list of languages he speaks.

In Curacao, which is located 44 miles north of Venezuela but belongs to The Netherlands, the people speak their own language. Papiamento, a Creole dialect, is taken from Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, Dutch, and West African.

Smith also speaks Dutch and Spanish but had minimal exposure to English. He spent the first semester at UMaine in an intensive English program.

“It wasn’t hard to understand professors, but on the tests I couldn’t express myself, what I wanted to write,” Smith said.

Smith’s chance to attend college in the United States came late. The Minnesota Twins were offering to sign him to a professional contract once he finished high school.

Kostacopoulos had seen Smith play in Bangor, and businessman and UMaine booster Mike Kessock lived part-time in Curacao and knew of Smith’s talents, but the parties never got together.

In February 2004, Smith returned to Maine to visit friend and former Senior League teammate Arshwin Asjes, who was living with a family in the Bar Harbor area. During his stay, Smith attended a UMaine hitting clinic.

The ensuing scholarship offer opened the door for Smith to attend UMaine.

“The opportunity to come to this country and play would never happen if he wasn’t a quality kid, No. 1, and a very good baseball player,” Kostacopoulos said.

With the Twins still trying to sign him, Smith’s mother, Claudette Mourillon, made sure he realized what a great opportunity college would be.

“[Minnesota] kept giving me offers,” Smith said. “It got kind of tough, but I talked to my mom and she explained everything to me and said school was better for me and I was like, yeah, you’re right.”

In terms of baseball, he has been outstanding offensively. He said the biggest difference has been the quality of pitchers’ breaking balls.

Smith has been trying to tone down his aggressiveness at the plate and be more selective.

“A lot of people say I’m doing good, but I don’t think so,” Smith said. “I used to always hit for a high average and then I came here and I was like, I’m having a bad season, probably the worst season I’ve ever had.”

Defensively, Smith knows he must improve after committing 15 errors in 45 games.

“I’ve struggled a little bit this year, but I’ll be fine,” he said. “I think I’m trying to do too much. As a freshman, I want to give a good impression that I can play the position. I think that was the main problem.”

This summer, Smith plans to play for Glens Falls Golden Eagles in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. His first priority is to help the Bears win an America East championship.