OXFORD, Miss. – Friday was a hot, steamy day in the South – sunny, 85 degrees with 51 percent humidity – and several members of the University of Maine baseball team took full advantage of it.

With an hour-long morning practice session behind them and the sun shining on the pool at the Days Inn, some of the Black Bears broke out the swim trunks and basked in the heat.

UMaine’s NCAA Tournament Oxford Regional opener against host Mississippi, scheduled for a 7 p.m. (Central) start, was still six hours away and the players were trying to enjoy some of the fringe benefits of the trip.

“It’s awesome,” said freshman Curt Smith, who was finally enjoying some weather more reminiscent of his home on the island of Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles.

Freshmen Mark Ostrander and Frank Pesanello entertained themselves by taking a few dives into the cool water and directing the spray of water onto trainer Gretchen Benz.

“I think it’s just a really good experience to be down here,” said sophomore Ryan Brown of Milford. “I’ve never been to Mississippi before and playing against the competition we’re going to be playing against is going to be really fun. The weather’s great.”

Matt McGraw, Joe Hough, Ryan Brown, Ray Vallee, Jason Weymouth, Curt Smith and Will Carroll were among those who caught a few rays as they waited to play what would be one of the biggest games of their young lives.

McGraw laid in the sun for a while, then entertained himself by taking photos of his teammates diving into the pool.

“This is the first day in two weeks that we haven’t seen rain,” said McGraw, a sophomore catcher and outfielder from Burlington, Ontario.

Ostrander: On a role

Ostrander has maintained a positive outlook the season despite not having performed up to his expectations.

The outfielder from Hopkinton, Mass. has played in 39 games, starting 11. However, because of his lack of offensive production (.163 average, 5 RBIs), he has been used primarily as a late-inning defensive replacement and as a pinch runner.

Ostrander has tried to put everything in perspective.

“A learning experience, definitely,” was how he described his season. “Personally, frustration, but as a team we’re winning so it keeps my morale up. I know that I could do better and am going to get there. I have to just keep working hard.”

Part of what has made Ostrander’s transition so difficult to swallow is his success prior to attending UMaine. During his career at Hopkinton High School, the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder batted .440 with 16 home runs, 85 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.

A year ago, Ostrander was being courted by major league teams, including the Atlanta Braves. He was so highly coveted he was flown to Atlanta for a tryout session with many of the organization’s other draft hopefuls.

“I watched the draft the following week on MLB.com and I saw all those kids,” Ostrander said. “If they weren’t getting drafted by the Braves, they were getting drafted by other teams in the top five or 10 rounds, making some serious cash.”

Ostrander admitted it was hard to turn down a generous offer by the Braves to turn professional. But the timing to take such a step didn’t seem right.

“They made it pretty tough for me,” he said of the Braves’ offer, which included money for a college education whenever he wanted to go to school.

“I felt comfortable enough that Maine was going to give the opportunity to become a much better baseball player and prepare me for the professional level,” he explained.

This weekend, Ostrander’s aim to stay ready to perform whenever needed. Last Saturday during the America East tournament at Burlington, Vt., he was involved in the most exciting moment of the season.

Ostrander, pinch-running for McGraw at third base, dove into home plate with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning, giving the Bears the league title and an NCAA berth.

“I didn’t really think we were going to need somebody fast on third,” he said. “I figured Joe (Hough) was just going to hit another far ball that I was going to tag up on and walk into the plate.

“It was awesome. It was absolutely amazing.”

Ostrander plans to play in the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer and redisover his batting stroke in the hope of earning a starting spot at UMaine next season.