Published on Monday, Mar 12, 2012 at 12:12 am | Last updated on Monday, Mar 12, 2012 at 12:12 am
Matt Verrier, a graduate of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, will play catcher for the University of Southern Maine Huskies. - Daryn Slover
Matt Verrier, a graduate of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, will play catcher for the University of Southern Maine Huskies. - Daryn Slover
Matt Verrier, a graduate of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, will play catcher for the University of Southern Maine Huskies. - Daryn Slover
GORHAM ? One year of college baseball eligibility had morphed into two, and Matt Verrier envisioned himself no closer to cracking the University of Maine starting lineup than he was the day he left Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School as a state champion.
?I just kind of saw the writing on the wall,? Verrier said. ?I went to our winter meetings and couldn?t really see when I was going to play. I realized I only have three years left and I wanted to go to a school where I would get on the field.?
In addition to completing his fall semester courses, Verrier made the necessary contacts and filled out the required paperwork that would allow him to transfer within the state university system.
And make him the big fish once again.
Verrier landed on his feet and hit the ground swinging at the University of Southern Maine, taking his Division I talents to a perennial power in New England Division III.
?I find nothing but positive things to say about Matt,? Southern Maine coach Ed Flaherty said. ?I see three years of great things.?
Winner of the 2010 John Winkin Award, symbolic of Maine?s outstanding high school senior baseball player, Verrier won?t have to wonder about his future at Southern Maine.
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound catcher from Norway was penciled in as the Huskies? starting backstop and cleanup hitter since the opening day of workouts.
Through four games, Verrier has three hits and four RBIs while guiding Southern Maine?s staff to a 3.53 ERA, four runs better than its opposition. USM swept Farmingdale (N.Y.) State this weekend to make it a 3-1 start.
?They?re kind of letting me call my own game, which is cool,? Verrier said. ?They allow the kids to work their way through situations. They give us ideas, but you get more control. I like it.?
Verrier?s broken road to the Huskies isn?t a new phenomenon to Flaherty, the 26-year skipper who steered Southern Maine to Division III national titles in 1991 and 1997.
In that tenure, many players have accepted scholarships and challenges elsewhere before taking up Flaherty on his previous pitch.
?A lot of times kids do fall our way after they go somewhere else and it doesn?t work out. You have some kids who you hope to recruit but they go Division I,? Flaherty said. ?I didn?t go too hard after Matt because he?d already committed to Maine his sophomore year. It was over with fast.?
Verrier?s statewide reputation was well established by the end of his freshman year at Oxford Hills. That summer he anchored the lineup for the Bessey Motors American Legion team, belting a 400-foot home run in the state tournament at Saint Joseph?s College.
Within a year, his scholastic and baseball futures seemingly set in stone, Verrier separated himself from the recruiting battles that usually swirl around a player of his stature.
?I don?t think (Flaherty) recruited me much. I knew all along that I was going to Maine and I didn?t really look at a lot of the local schools,? Verrier said.
Taking advantage of a second opportunity didn?t mean swallowing his pride.
Verrier had no hesitation about turning to a situation that would provide both playing time and an immediate comfort zone.
?There were a lot of players on the team I?d already played with and played against, so it all worked out for me,? he said. ?I have no regrets. I felt I was ready to play at that level. It just didn?t work out for me at Maine. If you look through the years a lot of other good players have gone through it.?
Trying to crack Maine's lineup mirrored the age-old question about how to find a job without experience and how to find experience without a job.
Shared playing time and sporadic opportunities to prove himself put unusual pressure on Verrier to perform. And like many players accustomed to being in the spotlight, Verrier believes he grows stronger as he gets regular opportunities to get himself into a rhythm.
Verrier even struggled to shake off the rust during his summer with the Sanford Mainers of the NECBL, for whom he started all season but batted below .200.
?It was tough after coming out of high school and playing all the time all four years and being in the center of it all. Then you get to school and all the other guys are just as good as you are,? Verrier said. ?You have to make the most of all your opportunities.?
There?s no need to wait any longer. With incumbent senior Zach Fernandes sidelined by a torn UCL in his throwing elbow, Verrier is the top catcher on Southern Maine?s depth chart. Freshman Dylan Morris is the understudy.
No need for Verrier to look over his shoulder, either.
?We already knew that he?d be a good fit in the middle of the order, but with Zach?s injury it was a good time to get him,? Flaherty said. ?When he doesn?t catch, he will DH or play first base. We know he?ll need 50, 60, 70 at-bats to get where he needs to be and that he?ll only get stronger.?
koakes@sunjournal.com
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