By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

The University of Maine at Farmington’s baseball season is always riddled with unknowns, most of them weather-related.

Today is April Fool’s Day, and as is typically the case on the Beavers’ home turf at Hippach Field on the morning of that calendar change, there are banks of snow where there should be baselines and ankle-deep puddles where grass ought to grow.

It’s never a good sign when two in-state road games already have been postponed because conditions one hour south aren’t any better. UMF will have to wait a while to play Bates and Bowdoin, and barring a change in Saturday’s forecast, a scheduled doubleheader at Saint Joseph’s College might be in jeopardy, too.

So the Beavers can count on a frantic month of April, offering ample on-the-job training for a 22-man roster that features a dozen freshmen and seven sophomores.

As far as veteran coach Dick Meader is concerned, however, the impending lack of down time might not be a bad thing for such a green group.

“Baseball is a funny game,” Meader said in his team’s prospectus on the UMF web site. “If you prepare hard and get a group of guys with good character and teamwork, tremendous things happen.”

UMF’s hopes of improving its 8-21 mark last spring hinge heavily upon eight local players.

Meader expects Jared Wales of New Gloucester, Ben Saviello of Wilton and Jacob Turner of Jay to comprise three-fourths of the Beavers’ pitching rotation.

Freshmen Devin Gill of Gray and Adam Dyar of Strong should compete for time in the bullpen.

Wilton’s Aaron Wolfe and Joe Simpson of Auburn may platoon at second base, while Corey Provencher of Rumford is vying for time with Turner at shortstop. Provencher could also find himself with Gill in the outfield mix.

Saviello plays third base when he’s not on the mound. The Beavers know they won’t get far without that kind of versatility up and down the lineup.

“We will need some players to step up and produce in several roles for us to be successful this season,” Meader said. “We will go out and play hard, and I think we will be fine.”

Steady at short

UMF’s softball team only features one area player, but she’s an important one. Sophomore Sara Martin of Strong returns at shortstop, where she started 27 of Farmington’s 28 games during her freshman campaign.

Martin batted .244 with 12 RBIs in 2004.

The women’s schedule is even more compressed than their baseball counterparts. UMF’s home docket consists of four doubleheaders. Currently, they’re all scheduled in a seven-day span beginning April 13.

Blazing a trail

As girls’ high school hockey grows in stature throughout Maine’s southern corridor, NCAA programs throughout New England will begin reaping the benefits.

One of the local trend-setters, Jill Lizotte of Sabattus, just completed her first varsity season at Northeastern University.

Lizotte played for the varsity program at Cony High School in Augusta, where the club team incorporated players from other area high schools that didn’t have enough players. Lizotte captained the Rams as a junior and senior.

A field hockey and softball letterwinner at Oak Hill High School, Lizotte earned all-conference recognition in every sport.

Lizotte scored a goal and an assist in the Huskies’ 4-0 victory over city rival Boston University in the consolation game of the Women’s Beanpot Tournament.

Northeastern went 3-25-4 overall and wound up sixth in Hockey East.

Right on track

Fresh off a successful indoor track and field season, University of Maine standout Stephanie McCusker of Lisbon jumped into the outdoor campaign with both feet in the Black Bears’ initial outdoor appearance of the spring.

McCusker was the lone ladies’ event winner for Maine in a competition at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., last weekend. She aced the triple jump with a distance of 11.08 meters.

Maine hosts its only home meet of the outdoor season Saturday against New Hampshire.