PORTLAND – In this unseasonably warm winter, the University of Maine baseball team has actually held a few outdoor practices, complete with fly ball drills.
Maine Coach Steve Trimper said those drills will be different in May when the Black Bears come to Portland.
“We’ll hit some balls off the wall,” he said.
The wall is the Maine Monster in left field at Hadlock Field, the 37-foot-high replica of the Green Monster at Fenway Park.
The Black Bears, the defending America East champions, will play Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference aat 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, at Hadlock.
It will be the Black Bears’ first game at Hadlock since they romped past Massachusetts 21-8 in 1998.
A 2000 game against Holy Cross at Hadlock was canceled because Maine needed to schedule makeup league games.
Since then, the Black Bears have played at Goodall Park in Sanford and The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach when visiting the southern part of the state.
Trimper said the idea for playing at Hadlock came when Trimper was watching a hockey game with state senator Justin Alfond of Portland.
“He suggested we play (at Hadlock). I said OK, and the next day the Sea Dogs called,” Trimper said.
“We’re very interested to play in southern Maine for a couple of reasons. It’s a good chance for alumni and fans here to see us, and it’s good for recruiting. We like to get local players.”
Among the southern Maine players on the Black Bears’ roster are Robbie and Steve Trask of Saco, Scott Heath of Westbrook, and Sam Balzano of Portland (Deering High).
Two former Deering players are on the Boston College roster — Nick Colucci and Matt (Watson) Pare.
Neither team is likely to use its top pitchers, because both teams have conference games the next weekend. But Trimper said his Black Bears will be motivated to knock off an ACC team.
“This is not a scrimmage,” he said. “We’re going there to beat them.”
Tickets are $6 and are already on sale at the Hadlock ticket office, or through www.seadogs.com. A limited number of sky boxes are also available for rent.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: KevinThomasPPH
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.