Cheney tall at short Nothing gets by UMaine senior

Not much gets past Brittany Cheney.

Whether it’s in the shortstop position, at the plate, or in the classroom, the University of Maine softball senior has excelled over the years.

Cheney was even a standout soccer goalie in high school, setting a school record for shutouts – for a while, Cheney didn’t let anything past her.

This season, Cheney has proved herself to be one of the most well-rounded players in the America East conference. She has the highest fielding percentage (.943) of the eight regular shortstops in the league and the fourth-best batting average overall. Cheney also picked up UMaine’s Dean Smith Award, which honors the top male and female student-athletes.

The Abington, Mass., native is poised to lead the Black Bears as they open play in the four-team, double-elimination conference tournament this afternoon at Kessock Field in Orono.

Maine, the top seed, will face No. 4 Boston University at 2:30 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to Friday’s 11 a.m. game against the winner of Thursday’s noon game between No. 2 Albany and No. 3 University of Maryland Baltimore County.

The Black Bears last hosted the tournament in 2004, when they beat BU in the final and gained the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA regionals.

Cheney, a three-time America East first team selection, was an integral part of that team, and this year continues to be Maine’s offensive and defensive catalyst.

She is also nearing a number of UMaine milestones, including the single-season records for hits (62) and stolen bases (23), and career marks for hits (198) and at-bats (608).

There’s no tally kept for spectacular plays at the shortstop position, of course, but that’s where Cheney frequently makes her mark.

A Red Sox fan, Cheney grew up watching former Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra. She was also a soccer and basketball standout at Abington High School.

The 5-foot-10 Cheney had played soccer for several years before trying out the goalie position. She found she had a knack for not letting balls get by her and set a single-season school record with 20 shutouts.

There are plenty of parallels to the shortstop position, Cheney said. Working hard as a goalie has helped her at shortstop.

“In my experience I think it’s helped me read the ball a lot better,” she said. “When you have something flying at you and you have to react quickly, it’s pretty much the same in both sports.”

Cheney’s ability to react and read balls has made her one of the most highly-regarded shortstops in America East.

“Every time we play her I swear she takes more hits away from our kids,” Binghamton coach Holly Brown said. “She’s got such good range in the holes and she’s got the arm to come around and do it. She’s always been regarded as one of the top shortstops in the league.”

Cheney has the ability to make the kind of plays that cause spectators to do double-takes. During one game last season she went horizontal and seemed to hover for a moment while getting her glove on a ground ball and throwing out the runner at first.

But for Cheney, it’s more about instinct rather than endless repetitions in practice.

“I think at this level the more practice you get the more mental you get,” she said. “It’s easier to keep it to a minimum, both swings and ground balls, because it keeps you sane.”

In addition to her fielding prowess, Cheney is Maine’s leader in batting average (.384), RBIs (34), hits (61), home runs (seven) and stolen bases (20).

One of the reasons Cheney picked Maine over schools like Boston College and Providence College was the chance to rack up her stats in front of close family members.

Cheney’s mother, Kimberly Cheney, is a Rockland native and her grandparents, George and Joanne Brackett, still live there. Her aunt, Dawn Dugas, lives in Surry.

“It was really cool to know I’d be playing in front of my grandparents,” she said. “They’re so supportive and they love to watch their granddaughter play.”

A psychology/communications major, Cheney plans to stay in Orono next year to finish her honors thesis. She also wants to help head coach Stacey Sullivan with the team and find out if she has a taste for coaching.