The fourth-year Westbrook native is a starting left-handed pitcher, an infielder and the fourth batter in the lineup for the Black Bears.
Head Coach Steve Trimper considers this squad to be Heath’s team, and touted him as the best leader he’s ever had in more than 20 years of coaching.
Heath is the face of a program that has had great success throughout his four years as a Black Bear. He’s an impact player that can change the course of a game with just one swing, and his versatility as a player gives Coach Trimper a wide variety of options for his lineup each game.
“I just go out there every day and try to help the team win, whether it’s playing defense, outfield, first base, or on the mound pitching. Whichever opportunity I get to help the team win, I go for it,” Heath said.
So far this season, Heath and his Black Bears squad has faced a lot of adversity. Their early spring trip to Florida wasn’t as successful as they had hoped, and a slew of games have been rained, or snowed out. Staying in rhythm isn’t too difficult for Heath, who has remained consistent on the mound and at the plate all season and hopes to help his teammates do the same.
“I think this year I’m hitting better than other years, I’m pretty healthy right now. As a team we’ve started out slow, but we’ve gotten better as the year has gone on. We need to play better defense right now, do better at the little things, and play like we know how to. I still have faith in this team, I know we have a good squad, and I think we’ll turn it around,” Heath said.
Currently the Black Bears sit at 10-17 overall and 1-4 in the America East conference. They dropped early games against conference foes Hartford and Albany, and a pair of games against Stony Brook. To get a playoff berth, Maine needs to rebound in the conference and begin winning games.
“I’m looking forward to our next Hartford series. I didn’t pitch particularly well in that game last time, and we didn’t play well as a team either. Our last two games against them got rained out, so I’m looking forward to getting a chance to play them and show them what kind of team we really are,” Heath said.
Heath has posted solid number so far this season. On the mound, he’s 3-3 with 31 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched. At bat, he’s tallied a team high two home runs, 20 RBI and a .287 batting average.
Off the field, Heath puts a lot of work into his schoolwork and has to juggle many responsibilities, just like any other student athlete at Maine. He’s studying business management but is undecided whether he will pursue a career in that field or continue to play baseball after graduation. With five classes, practices and games, things can get pretty hectic in Heath’s daily schedule. However, his love for baseball keeps him motivated this time of year, and it’s something that he lives for.
“It’s a lot of work this time of year. I feel like I’m always at the field either working on my swing or getting treatment in the training room. We have practice or games almost every day, so you have to be able to manage your time. You have to put effort into your school work, practice hard, and get enough sleep, or it will catch up to you. But I wouldn’t rather be doing anything else. It’s awesome playing here. We’re all blessed with this opportunity,” Heath said.
Heath began playing baseball at the age of three out in the backyard with his father, Michael, who turned his son on to the sport at a young age and helped develop his game. His years of experience have made him so well-rounded, and perhaps the biggest asset on Maine’s roster.
Looking forward, Heath is hopeful of what this team can accomplish before the end of the season.
“We just have to take things one game at a time. I expect us to continue to improve and work really hard at what we haven’t been doing well. I expect us to start winning more games in conference to get us a playoff berth, and I expect us to give the conference title a run,” he said.
Coach Trimper set the team goal this season to getting five percent better every day, rather than setting larger goals like making it to a regional or winning the conference title. This mentality has resonated well with Heath and the rest of the team. Heath believes that if the team can achieve this, they will be a hard to compete with when playoffs come.
“It’s a great mentality to have because we’ve dealt with a lot of adversity,” Heath said.
“If you go out there with that attitude every day, whether it’s practice or a game, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing if you’re getting better, learning something, and working hard. If we do this every single day we’ll be playing our best ball at the end of the season when the playoffs roll around. It’s an attitude that creates success with this team, having a good attitude and work ethic, and trying to be a better ball player than you were yesterday. It speaks for itself and hopefully the results show with this group of guys.”
Heath and his Black Bears return to action on Tuesday, April 14 for a match against University of Maine Presque Isle at 5 p.m., looking to right the ship and get on course for a winning season.