Trimper fills in Black Bear coach lineup Cosgrove eyes kicking, line play

University of Maine baseball coach Steve Trimper has announced his staff as he begins his first season with the program.

Cory Domel and Jared Holowaty have been hired as full-time assistants, while former All-America East catcher and UMaine graduate Aaron Izaryk will serve as a graduate assistant coach.

“They are good baseball people and tireless workers, which is very important to our future success,” said Trimper, who was hired in August to replace Paul Kostacopoulos as the Bears’ head coach.

Domel will handle duties as UMaine’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Most recently, he was the head coach at College of Lake County, a junior college in Grayslake, Ill.

Last season, Domel led the Lancers to a 30-20 record and a sectional title. He served as an assistant at CLC from 2002-04.

Domel, a 2001 graduate of Western Illinois, has spent the last two summers as the pitching coach of the Vermont Mountaineers in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

“Cory brings a wealth of baseball knowledge to our program,” Trimper said.

Holowaty, who will work with hitters and infielders, was a graduate assistant at the College of New Jersey last season. His father, Bill Holowaty, is the head coach at Eastern Connecticut State University and is the all-time winningest coach in New England Division III baseball.

Jared Holowaty, who was the recruiting coordinator, outfield coach and subvarsity head coach at CNJ, was an assistant coach at ECSU in 2003.

He played at ECSU, twice earning all-league, first-team honors before graduating in 2002.

“Jared comes from a baseball family,” Trimper said. “Jared has a lot of experience as a player and coach both in the United States and internationally.”

Izaryk was a four-time, all-league pick for the Bears. He posted a .318 career batting average with 123 runs batted in.

As a senior, Izaryk won the Dean Smith Award given to UMaine’s top male and female student-athletes and was chosen the America East Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

“In the short time I have known Aaron, he is a class individual,” Trimper said. “He is a great role model for all our players.”

Bears seeking consistency

The UMaine football team, coming off a 28-0 win over NAIA William Penn, is gearing up for Saturday’s 6 p.m. Atlantic 10 opener against Richmond at Alfond Stadium.

Coach Jack Cosgrove’s Bears again played strong defense, but demonstrated the need for growth in the offensive line and in their kicking game.

The defensive line was again a bright spot. The unit, which includes tackles Mike DeVito, Reggie Paramoure, Bruno Dorismond and Bryan Greer, along with ends Matt King, Pat McCrossan, Josh Caldwell and Derek Runnells, helped shut down the run effectively while putting pressure on the William Penn quarterback.

“They really set the tone for our defense,” Cosgrove said. “Our defense rose up and really made it tough on [WPU]. “They couldn’t run the football very well.”

The offensive line was steady but unspectacular against the Statesmen. UMaine didn’t have great success running the ball, but put up 280 passing yards, including several long plays.

The Bears failed to finish a couple of drives, including missing two field goals, in the red zone. They also allowed five QB sacks, bringing to 16 the total for the first two games.

“We’re trying to find a way to produce a better run-pass [mix],” Cosgrove said. “I think that’s going to be the key to the [Richmond] game, whose offense gets untracked a little bit.”

One disappointing aspect Saturday was place-kicking. Sophomore Bobby Donnelly of Westbrook, playing in only his second collegiate game, made all four of his extra points, but narrowly missed two 33-yard field-goal attempts.

“We have not historically been a good field goal team,” Cosgrove conceded. “We’re trying to break in a new kicker.”

Cosgrove said UMaine must establish more consistency in that aspect of its game, especially given the challenging nature of its conference schedule.