Bears hope to overcome adversity Ambidextrous pitcher, starting catcher dismissed

Steve Trimper set up this year’s schedule intending to put the University of Maine baseball team through a rigorous test prior to starting America East play.

The second-year coach succeeded.

The Black Bears arrived home at 3 a.m. Tuesday after a grueling 21-hour return trip from Tempe, Ariz., where they closed out their swing through Florida and Arizona with a 4-11 record, including five losses against nationally ranked teams in Arizona State and Miami.

“We played some very good teams,” Trimper said. “I was trying to put these guys in the most adverse situations possible.”

The Bears ended their trip on a nine-game losing streak, capped off by No. 14 Arizona State’s four-game sweep. The Sun Devils outscored UMaine 58-11.

“We got so many positives out of our trip,” Trimper said. “Now we know what we have to start working on. We need to persevere and overcome some adversity.”

The Black Bears faced additional adversity upon their return to campus, as sophomore catcher Sean Parker of Worcester, Mass., and ambidextrous freshman pitcher David Ricker of Hendersonville, N.C., were dismissed from the team for violating team rules, according to a UMaine statement released Wednesday.

Parker, who started 45 games behind the plate as a freshman, was batting .196 with 1 home run and 4 RBIs in 12 games this season. Ricker pitched in four games for the Black Bears, yielding 17 hits and 15 earned runs for a 27.00 earned run average.

During its Southern swing, UMaine neither pitched as well nor swung the bats as effectively as they might have hoped.

Junior lefthander Brad Hertzler was among the bright spots on the mound. He came back 0-2, but shut out Miami for seven-plus innings in one start.

Senior righty Greg Norton of South Portland (1-2) is trying to regain his prior form coming off 2005 shoulder surgery, while junior lefty Nolan Boike (1-0) appears ready to join the weekend conference rotation.

“Hertzler and Norty, that’s our 1-2 punch,” Trimper said. “Norty’s made a lot of progress and Boike’s really impressed me. I think he’ll take that starter’s role.”

Sophomore righthander Mike Powers of Portland (0-3) struggled, especially as a starter, and his status in the mix is unexpectedly up in the air. Sophomores Mitch Clegg (1-1) Jose Mendoza (1-1) and A.J. Balsinde (1 save) and freshman Ryan Forrest (0-0) also were steady.

“I was extremely impressed with the five or six guys that we consider our conference guys,” Trimper said.

The Bears came back with an unimpressive 8.08 team earned run average, striking out 118 batters and walking 69. Trimper said some of the pitching struggles were due to playing so many games in such a short span of time, including 10 straight at one point.

“You’re going to run out of pitching,” he admitted. “On paper, it’s a tough way to measure your team in terms of competition and days [played] as opposed to the way you play during your [conference] season.”

Offensively, UMaine was a bit inconsistent. Senior Joel Barrett of Brewer set the pace among the regulars, batting .349 with a home run and eight RBIs.

Junior Bobby Brown (.333, 2 HR, 3 RBI) appears ready to contribute, while freshman catcher/designated hitter Myckie Lugbauer hit .378 with two homers and eight RBIs in 11 games.

Reigning AE Rookie of the Year Kevin McAvoy of Brewer came back at .317 with a homer and a team-leading 12 RBIs, while sophomore Billy Cather (.286, 10 RBI, 7 stolen bases) was the leadoff man.

A handful of UMaine regulars are off to slow starts, including shortstop Curt Smith (.266, 7 RBI), outfielders Matt McGraw (.250, 7 RBI, 5 SB) and Mark Ostrander (.238, 1HR, 8 RBI) and 2B Danny Menendez (.222, 5 RBI).

The Bears are batting .288 overall, averaging 5.8 runs per contest. They have hit only eight homers.

“I’m not worried about our offense,” Trimper said. “We had pretty good at-bats. Between the Miami and Arizona State games, I bet they took 15-20 hits away from us [with great defense].”

UMaine committed 22 errors in 15 games (1.5 per outing), with nine of those by Smith at shortstop.

“We were not always the greatest defensive team, but we started to play outstanding defense in the later part of the trip, added Trimper, who said in spite of the team’s early difficulties, there is no sense of panic.

“We don’t have the record, but we’re fine,” Trimper. “These kids are in a good frame of mind. No one’s pressing. I just want to keep things in perspective, get ready for our conference, and get ourselves better physically and mentally prepared.”

UMaine is scheduled to continue nonleague play with a three-game series Saturday and Sunday at New York Tech, weather permitting.