The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach will come alive again Saturday for a baseball doubleheader between the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine.

Both teams are using the date as their allowable day of fall games allotted by the NCAA.

It will also serve as Maine’s scout day, a showcase for next spring’s Major League Baseball draft. Scouts from 16 major league organizations confirmed they would attend, said Maine Coach Steve Trimper.

Workouts begin at 11 a.m., and Game 1 is set to start around 12:45 p.m. Game 2 will begin following a 10-minute break.

“I have a lot of draft-eligible guys,” Trimper said. “They can play and showcase themselves for the 2011 draft.”

Maine pitchers Jonathan Balentina, Joe Miller, Kyle Benoit, A.J. Bazdanes and Keith Bilodeau, and outfielder Taylor Lewis all have drawn significant interest, although all juniors and seniors are draft eligible.

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The position players will run a 60-yard dash, throw from their positions and take batting practice.

USM players have been invited to work out before the game, but Coach Ed Flaherty has several injured upperclassmen that won’t be able to take part.

Both coaches said they plan to rotate as many players on the mound and around the field as possible.

“It really helps us to tie things together at the end of the fall,” said Flaherty. “We’ve watched our own kids play against each other for a month. Now it’s a chance maybe to see what they can do against another team, a Division I program.”

USM senior Josh Mackey will miss the games while taking care of an elbow injury. And senior Mike Eaton, who underwent labrum surgery over the summer, will also sit out.

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE

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The football program will celebrate the legacy of late coach Ron Rogerson (1981-84) during alumni weekend on Friday and Saturday.

Rogerson led Maine to the 1983 Yankee Conference title before leaving to coach at Princeton prior to 1985. He coached the Tigers for two years.

Rogerson died of heart failure at age 44.

The weekend includes a dinner Friday night and a golf outing and lunch Saturday, followed by Maine’s 6 p.m. game against New Hampshire.

Cross country runners David Currier and Corey Conner were named America East performers of the week.

Currier won a meet against New Hampshire in a time of 25 minutes, 25 seconds for the 8-kilometer men’s race, and Conner took top honors in the 5K women’s race with a time of 17:31.

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The women’s team is ranked 11th in the Northeast Region, and the men are 14th.

SOUTHERN MAINE

The 22nd annual Husky Golf Classic at Martindale Country Club in Auburn has been moved to Oct. 14 because of today’s forecast of bad weather.

The tournament is a four-person scramble to give friends, family and alumni a chance to support the athletic department.

David Kreps of the men’s soccer team was named Little East Conference goalkeeper of the week.

In two matches last week, Kreps compiled a 1.00 goals-against average and made 17 saves while going 1-1.

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Senior Carly Dion of Biddeford and freshman Morgan Beede of Augusta were named LEC cross country runner and rookie of the week, respectively.

Dion finished second Sunday at the Hunter College Developmental Invitational in New York City, finishing the 6,000-meter course in 24:47.

The Huskies won the team title with a perfect score of 15 points to beat runner-up Baruch College (110).

Beede was the fourth USM finisher, in a time of 26:03.

BOWDOIN

The No. 7 nationally ranked field hockey team knocked off No. 10 Middlebury last week to improve to 5-0.

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The Polar Bears begin a four-game homestand Saturday against Connecticut College and don’t hit the road again until Oct. 13, a short trip up Interstate 95 to Colby College.

Bowdoin is led in scoring by junior Katie Herter, who has eight goals.

The sailing team finished third of 18 teams at the Chris Loder Trophy hosted by New Hampshire last weekend. Jeff Goodrich and Ben Berg sailed in the ‘A’ division and freshmen Peter Edmunds and Kim Dempsey sailed in the ‘B’ division.

The third-place finish qualified the team for the Captain Hurst Bowl hosted by Dartmouth Oct. 16-17.

UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND

Colleen Ahern swept The Commonwealth Coast Conference weekly awards, winning both runner of the week and rookie of the week honors.

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Ahern placed second at Saturday’s Elms College Invitational with a 5-kilometer time of 19:58, eight seconds behind the winner.

On the men’s team, Brandon Mulligan was named TCCC runner of the week after he finished fourth in a field of 65 runners at the same meet. He ran the 8K in 28:17.

Goalie Jon Planer of Yarmouth was named TCCC defensive player of the week for men’s soccer after going 1-0-1 last week. Planer made five saves in a 2-1 win at Endicott College, then registered a career-best 17 stops in a 1-1 tie against Gordon.

Field hockey forward Hayley LaPointe of Topsham was named TCCC rookie of the week. She scored two goals Saturday in a 4-1 win over Western New England College, the first goal breaking a 1-1 tie.

ST. JOSEPH’S

Freshman Kevin Richardson was named Great Northeast Athletic Conference golf rookie of the week. He shot a 77 to finish second out of 37 participants in the John Queenan Memorial Tournament, hosted by the Monks at the Point Sebago Golf Resort in Casco on Sept. 21.

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The women’s volleyball team improved to 10-6 with a 3-0 win against the University of Maine at Farmington on Tuesday.

Kiah Begley of Berwick registered 15 assists, six kills, five digs and four service aces for the Monks.

Alyssa Grigware of Biddeford had seven kills and three aces. Holly Bannister of Cumber- land had five kills and four blocks.

Begley reached the 1,000-assist plateau during the game and now has 1,012 assists in 46 career matches.

SOUTHERN MAINE C.C.

Baseball pitcher Andrew Watt was named Yankee Small College Conference player of the week for his performance in a 5-4 win over Central Maine Community College. He had 11 strikeouts, two walks and gave up no earned runs. The Seawolves are 2-8, 1-5 in the conference.

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The softball team will complete the fall season with a game at Briarcliffe College in New York this weekend. The Seawolves are 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

Matt Richio of South Portland was named men’s soccer goalie of the week for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

Richio had 15 saves in a shutout win over New Hampshire Technical Institute.

The Findlay brothers went finished 1-2 for the golf team last weekend, helping the team to a first-place finish in its last regular-season match at Loudon Country Club in Loudon, N.H.

Matt Findlay shot a 77 and Coleman Findlay shot an 80. They are from South Portland.

The Seawolves are 4-1 and will head to the YSCC championship on Oct. 3, hosted by the University of Maine at Augusta at Natanis Country Club.

Tommy Stirling of Gorham is ranked No. 8 in the USCAA, averaging a score of 78. The Seawolves are ranked No. 5 in the USCAA. 

Staff Writer Jenn Menendez can be contacted at 791-6426 or at:

jmenendez@pressherald.com


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