Southpaws have synergy. Just ask Josh Jillson.

The Oak Hill left-hander signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division I baseball for the University of Maine last week, and one of the reasons was the harmony he felt with a fellow southpaw, pitching coach Cory Domel

“The coaches just were really up front with me and easy to get along with, plus the pitching coach is left-handed, so we just kind of hit it off from the start,” Jillson said.

Jillson, who also considered the University of Southern Maine, Holy Cross and Franklin Pierce, returned from a trip to Orono impressed by the campus, the coaches and the players there. The chance to play D-I ball close to home also appealed to him.

Jillson was selected to the Sun Journal’s 2006 All-Region team after leading the Raiders to the Class B state championship with a 9-0 record. He got stronger as the year went along, tossing a three-hit shutout in the state title game against Bucksport.

“He was consistently at 89 in the state game,” Oak Hill coach Chad Drouin said, “and this summer up in Madison (when he threw a no-hitter for the Monmouth Legion team), I thought he had the best fastball he had all year.”

Armed with one of the best fastballs in the state and a sharp curveball, Jillson posted a 0.71 ERA and 86 strikeouts in just over 50 innings last season for the Raiders.

The 5-foot-10, 190 pound senior, who was a quarterback for the Oak Hill football team this fall, credits his off-season training with improving his velocity.

“Before last school year started, I took a class with Mr. Fairchild (Oak Hill athletic director and former baseball coach Bill Fairchild) and really focused on my core strength and flexibility,” he said. “I think it added, like, 5 mph to my fastball.”

Jillson said Maine coaches watched him pitch a couple of times last year but didn’t really talk with them until he visited the campus.

“That was probably a good thing – no pressure,” he said.

“I think it’s the right move for him,” Drouin said. “The reason I say that is I received good information from the Maine program as to how excited they are to have him.”