‘No regrets’ for ex-UM pitcher

It hasn’t turned out the way Steve Richard envisioned it.

Richard was the ace of the University of Maine’s pitching staff who transferred to Clemson University (S.C.) after Maine head coach Paul Kostacopoulos and assistant Scott Friedholm left for jobs at the U.S. Naval Academy in June.

Clemson coach and Maine grad Jack Leggett, who returned 11 pitchers from his 2005 Super Regional team, decided to make Richard his closer.

Under NCAA rules, baseball players can transfer from one Division I school to another without having to sit out a year.

After some early success, in which Richard registered four saves, the hard-throwing junior righty from Billerica, Mass., struggled and lost his job to Daniel Moskos.

The good news is he’s going to the College World Series with the 52-14 Tigers and he was drafted in the eighth round by the Seattle Mariners.

The bad news is he has been used strictly in mopup roles of late, pitching the ninth inning of 13-3 and 13-1 wins on June 3 and May 24, respectively.

He has made 21 appearances, all in relief, and has an 0-1 record and a 4.30 earned run average to go with his four saves. He has allowed 29 hits in 23 innings with 14 strikeouts and nine walks. Opponents are hitting .315 against him.

Richard was 9-1 with a 2.07 earned run average at Maine last season, striking out 90 in 100 innings. He was 13-3 in two seasons at Maine.

“I expected to have a better season down here,” admitted Richard Tuesday. “Things haven’t worked out that well. But I’ve had a good time. It’s been a lot of fun. It has been a learning experience. Coach Leggett is a real good guy who gets to know his players. And we have fun at practice.”

Richard said playing in front of “5,000-6,000 people, even at a midweek game, has been fun to be a part of.”

And going to the College World Series is “pretty exciting.

“That was one of my main reasons for coming here,” said Richard.

He knows he would have been the No. 1 starter for the Maine staff and would have racked up a lot more innings.

But he doesn’t second-guess himself.

“I can’t think like that: whether or not it was a good decision. I got drafted pretty well [high] and I’m going to the College World Series,” said Richard. “Pitching more innings [at Maine] may have gotten me drafted a little bit higher but by coming down here, I’ve been throwing in front of 15-20 scouts every game.”

“I don’t have any regrets,” added Richard.

He said he has been throwing his fastball in the “91-94” miles-per-hour range but “my off-speed stuff hasn’t been as sharp as it was at Maine. I had a lot more opportunity to work on it at Maine. When you’re a closer, they want you to go right at the hitters [with your fastball].”

He expects to sign with the Mariners after the CWS and pass up his senior year.

“The Mariners have told me they want me to be a starter. We’ve already talked about that. I’m looking forward to it,” said Richard. “Playing pro ball has been a goal of mine since I was a little kid.”

Although he has had a frustrating season, he said “baseball has a lot to do with failure. In the long run, failing a few times can make me a better pitcher. Everybody has to deal with failure. Hopefully, it will drive me harder in the future and I’ll have some success at the next level.”

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.