LEWISTON — When Lewiston coach Todd Cifelli told Mekae Hyde before the start of the 2011 season that he wanted the senior catcher to aspire to being the best player in the state, Hyde’s retort could have been ‘Coach, I’m way ahead of you.'”

Instead, Hyde said he was proud that his coach had such confidence in him as to consider him a potential John Winkin Award winner.

 “That’s been a goal since I was a freshman. I was honored that he thought I could reach that level,” Hyde said.

Hyde was indeed one of six finalists for the Winkin award, presented annually to the state’s top senior baseball player. But he is singular in another honor — the 2011 Sun Journal All-Region Baseball Player of the Year.

A four-year starter at Lewiston, Hyde’s development as a player was synonymous with the growth of Cifelli’s baseball program.

He entered the pipeline with great promise, earning a spot on Cifelli’s Gayton Post American Legion team before he’d entered the 9th grade. He held his own with players as much as five years older than him that summer, but a broken ankle muted the optimism of his freshman spring at Lewiston.

Hyde bounced back with an impressive sophomore year, leading the Blue Devils in several categories, but a 6-10 finish put a damper on the breakout season.

A mysterious knee ailment cropped up and limited his time behind the plate during his junior year. While the Devils reversed the previous year’s record and reached the playoffs, the season still didn’t seem complete to Hyde, who always prided himself on being an all-around catcher.

Hyde’s knee felt good enough to get back behind the plate in the summer. Not coincidentally, Gayton Post won 12 of its last 14 games and captured the state Legion title.

With momentum clearly building towards a strong 2011 season, Hyde didn’t want to take anything for granted. After being one of Lewiston’s top guards as a junior, he passed up his senior season of varsity basketball to focus on preparing for the spring.

“I knew it had to be done because baseball’s my game,” Hyde said. “I just wanted to be ready for that and give my team a chance to go as far as possible.”

First, he worked on strengthening his legs so they could withstand the wear-and-tear behind the plate.

“He knew he needed to do due diligence with his legs to stay healthy for his team,” Cifelli said. “He was getting in trouble at the health club because he was throwing too many weights on the squat rack. He knew he needed to work harder.”

He also knew he needed to improve on throwing out would-be base stealers, so he worked on his arm strength and footwork.

“He made great strides shutting down the running games of opposing teams,” Cifelli said. “He’s got a strong arm but hasn’t always been as accurate. This year, it was strong and accurate.”

With a quick glove and feet to match a steady, heady presence behind the plate, Hyde gave Lewiston’s pitchers the confidence to throw any pitch in any count.

The veteran pitching staff, led by Mekae’s younger brother, Corbin, and seniors Jeff Keene and Joe Sullivan, who he had been catching since 7th grade, surrendered little more than one earned run per game this year.

“Mekae, first and foremost, was a rock behind the plate,” Cifelli said. “He was arguably the best defensive catcher in the state. Our pitchers threw very confidently to him and a lot of the credit for the success of our pitching staff has to go to Mekae back there as a receiver.”

Hyde was a rock behind the plate and a linchpin in the lineup. In 20 games, he hit .441, got on base 54 percent of the time, scored 22 runs, belted three home runs and 23 RBI. Batting third in Lewiston’s deep and potent order, he excelled at whatever the situation called for, whether it was moving a runner over, knocking one in or getting on base so someone else could knock him in.

Whenever Hyde stepped up to the plate, the idea, Cifelli said, was for him to be able to put the maximum amount of pressure on the opposition.

“He had the respect factor of our opponents,” Cifelli said. “Our goal was to get guys on base in front of him and make the other team start to throw to him. Or if they decided to bypass him, his brother was waiting for them.”

Hyde argues that he has had better seasons at the plate, but individual numbers took a back seat to team accomplishments. He led Lewiston to an 18-2 record, it’s first KVAC championship, the No. 1 seed in Eastern Class A, and its first state championship game appearance since 1950.

“I don’t think I would have it any other way,” he said. “I would rather go to the state championship and bat whatever I batted than lose in the Eastern Maine (final) and bat .500.”

Hyde batted 1.000 when it came to mapping out his future.

Originally, he hoped to attend college outside of his hometown. But at the behest of Bates hitting coach and Gayton assistant Dave Jordan, he visited the local Division III team and changed his mind. He will attend Bates in the fall with hopes of making an immediate mark with its burgeoning baseball program.

“Obviously, the education is great, but this is a baseball program that’s on the rise,” he said. “This is a school where I thought I could step in and be a difference-maker, which is what I really wanted. I didn’t want to play at a big D-1 school and sit on the bench for a year or two and then get my chance. I wanted to step right in and be a difference-maker.”

No reason it can’t happen twice in Lewiston.