ORONO – Oxford Hills catcher Matt Verrier completed a sweep of the state’s top high school baseball honors Friday night when he was named the recipient of the Dr. John Winkin Mr. Maine Baseball Award.

Earlier this month, Verrier was named Maine Gatorade player of the year just before leading the Vikings to the Class A baseball championship.

Winkin, the former University of Maine coach, presented the award bearing his name to Verrier before the East/West senior all-star game at Larry Mahaney Diamond on the UMaine campus.

“I worked hard like every other kid in the state of Maine,” Verrier said. “Winning these awards and a state championship is a dream come true for me. I put the time in and hard work pays off.”

Verrier batted .450 with two home runs and 25 RBI during the regular season. Next year he’ll attend UMaine, where Coach Steve Trimper said Verrier will play right away.

“Verrier was a camper of ours back in the eighth grade, so we’ve actually been looking at him for quite some time,” Trimper said. “I knew he’d be a very good player. He was a very strong hitter.”

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Verrier committed to Maine before his junior year, but has been thinking about playing there for some time.

“From the start it was always UMaine,” he said.

Trimper is equally impressed with Verrier’s catching ability, which will help him get playing time as a freshman.

“Physically he’s a strong kid,” Trimper said. “He knows how to catch, he knows the game. We brought him in to be one of our two catchers next year. He’s going to be a right-away guy for us, there’s no question about that.”

In addition to his receiving and throwing ability, Trimper has been impressed with Verrier’s ability to run.

“He’s very athletic,” Trimper said. “He runs like a 6.9-7.0 60-(yard dash), which is outstanding for a catcher. He’s close to a five-tool guy for his age.”

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Verrier was one of the four nominees for the Winkin Award.

Also nominated were Hall-Dale pitcher Ryan Leach, Brewer infielder Eric White and Bonny Eagle infielder Lincoln Sanborn.

“It’s an honor, especially coming out of Class C,” Leach said. “(Verrier) deserved it; he’s real good.”

Leach will attend Division II East Region champion Franklin Pierce University next fall. White plans to play at Maine and Sanborn, who is the son of St. Joseph’s College Coach Will Sanborn, has earned a baseball scholarship to St. John’s University.

 


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