UMPI baseball determined to keep improving
PRESQUE ISLE — Anyone that has given up ‘nice’ weather reaching the northeast this spring and is looking for another outlet for optimism may want to keep an eye on this year’s University of Maine-Presque Isle baseball team.
Photo courtesy of Vicki Saucier
UMPI BASEBALL TEAM — Members of the University of Maine at Presque Isle baseball team are, in front from left, Adam Geel, Anthony Batchelder, Ryan Thompson, Shane Smith, Carlos Villoria, Alex Csiernik, Max Mayer and Justin Bergeron. Middle row, Josh Gale, Jordan Duffy, Stephen Thorne, Josiah Brazier, Tanner Marshall, Cam Morrell, Ghazeleh Sailors and Logan McLaughlin. Back, Dan Lewis, Jake Fillebrown, Ted Walker, Andrew Carter, Dylan Worster, Andrew Bartlett, Lucas Molloy, Jordan Perry and coach Leo Saucier.
While the team’s reputation as “road warriors” is well documented (most notably in an ESPN feature and New York Times article from 2009) and often seen as a road block to success, the Owls continue to perservere. And in 2012, the team gave its biggest indication yet that the best stories may have yet to be written.
Perserverence is one thing. Winning is another. The Owls are out to prove they can do both. Last season, the program took big steps in that direction. With nary a senior on the roster, the team pulled out a win for the first time during their annual week-long February trek to Virginia.
Later in the season, they posted an 8-3 record during an 11-game stretch.
With the majority of that team returning in 2013, optimism for more success is understandably high. This past February, the Owls once again pulled out a win in Virginia and found themselves in six of their eight contests against solid NCAA Division III competition.
“Those games showed them they can compete with the teams down south; we now know we stand a good chance with any of our northern competition,” said head coach Leo Saucier.
That confidence will be important as Saucier has set this team’s sights on boldly going where no UMPI baseball team has gone before.
“Our team goal this year is to set the single season win mark (14, set in 2009).”
While lofty, the goal is hardly out of reach when one considers that the Owls return leaders in all major offensive and pitching categories.
At the plate, Presque Isle looks to be anchored by the trio of Jordan Duffy, a senior from Fort Augustus, Prince Edward Island, Canada (.347 batting average in 2012), Ted Walker, a junior from Caribou (five home runs) and Carlos Villoria, a senior from Caracas, Venezuela (27 RBI).
Additionally, during an eight-game February road trip this year, UMPI got strong contributions from Justin Bergeron, a junior from Tiverton, R.I. (11 hits, .367 BA) and Joshua Gale, a sophomore from Sedgwick (1 HR, .429 OBP).
On the hill, Jake Fillebrown, a senior from Stoneham (5.01 ERA, 49 K in 50 IP) and Dylan Worster, a junior from Howland (3-1, 31 strikeouts) anchor a pitching staff that gets tapped frequently during the necessary stretches of multiple doubleheaders in short periods of time. Fillebrown posted a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings during the February trip with a sparkling 12 strikeouts to one walk ratio.
“We expect to compete in any games that Jake and Dylan are pitching,” explained Saucier. “We like our chances regardless of who is starting on the mound, but Jake and Dylan have demonstrated thet they can go up against any team we face.”
Managing the pitchers behind the plate is veteran Alex Csiernik, a junior from Hamilton, Ontario. During the eight games in February, Csiernik showed a good eye at the plate, drawing five walks and posting a .500 on-base percentage.
Freshman Logan McLaughlin, a former Central Aroostook High School standout, has joined the team and will pitch and play the outfield. He and Walker are the only Aroostook County bred players on the 25-man roster.
The Owls concluded their southern swing which took place in late-March and early-April with a 4-17 overall record.
The UMPI squad was swept in doubleheaders against Fisher College over the weekend. The scores on Friday were 3-0 and 4-0, while on Saturday, the finals were 15-7 and 23-4.
The Owls went 2-9 during the road trip, which included games in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
The team will take on Fisher once again this Friday, April 12 in a doubleheader to be played once again in Massachusetts.
Game times are 10 a.m. and noon.
