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| Spotlight
Player of the Week
Curt Smith
University of Maine |
 Junior
shortstop Curt Smith will lead the way for the Maine Black
Bears in 2007. The Curacao native showed he is an offensive
force after swinging at a .390 clip in 2006. The 2007 preseason
All-Ping! Third Team selection led the America East Conference
in batting average, hits (87), triples (6), and total bases
(132). Smith showed he is one of the better contact hitters
in the country, striking out just 13 times in 223 at-bats
a year ago, an amazing feat when considering roughly one-third
of Smith’s hits went for extra bases. Speaking of extra
bases, when Smith settled for a single, he often soon found
himself in scoring position as he swiped 19 bags. Observers
will see how Smith adjusts to his switch to shortstop, as
Smith played the hot corner for Maine in ’06.
Smith heads into 2007 as an All Ping! Third Team selection,
a member of the Wallace Watch List and National Collegiate
Baseball Writers Association Preseason Third Team. Smith was
named to the Chapel Hill All-Regional Team in 2006 and was
just the 7th player in Maine history to be named All-Region
twice in his career. Smith was named to the All-New England
First Team and earned American Baseball Coaches Association
Northeast Region Second Team honors a season ago. Smith spent
his 2006 summer playing for the Vermont Mountaineers of the
Northeast Collegiate Baseball League. Smith earned first team
all-league honors and was named the defensive player of the
year, committing just two errors in 120 total chances. Smith
showed his offensive side as well, leading his team in batting
average (.323), hits (50), and total bases (65) while stealing
20 bases in 22 attempts. Smith also established a franchise
record for runs scored in a season with 26 in just 40 games.
Maine finished 35-22-1 last season, but went just 13-9 –
good for 3rd place – in America East conference play.
The Black Bears hope to capture their first league championship
since 2002 behind the offensive firepower of Smith and sophomore
3B Kevin McAvoy who whacked a team-high 10 home runs in 2006
as a freshman. The Black Bears also will look to senior 1B
Joel Barrett for a spark as he hit a healthy .368 a season
ago. Maine will need the pitching staff to take a big step
forward in 2007 if they hope to make a 3rd straight trip to
the postseason. Junior lefthander Nolan Boike led the way
in 2006 with a 4.50 ERA in 14 appearances covering 42 innings
pitched
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