DIXFIELD – Last season, baseball coaches in the Mountain Valley Conference had one common refrain when they took note that Dirigo was upcoming on their schedule.

“We should be all right,” more than one coach was heard to say last season, “so long as we don’t have to face Corey Wing.”

They were usually correct. Since becoming coach Al McGregor’s No. 1 starter as a sophomore, Wing has been on the mound and taken the decision for all but three of the Cougars’ 13 victories in that two-and-a-half year span. The number may not jump off the page, but considering teams often save their No. 1 starters to go head-to-head with the Cougar ace, it’s pretty impressive.

The respect from opponents ran so deep that, in a league stacked with top-flight pitching, Wing was named a first team all-conference pitcher as a junior.

It was a well-deserved honor, according to his coach.

“One thing that Corey is is he’s a competitor out there.,” McGregor said. “He has a lot of natural ability and when he plays and practices…he’s a worker.”

Opponents have once again had their work cut out for them this season when Wing toes the rubber. He boasts a 3-1 record with a 1.27 ERA, and he’s been able to baffle opposing hitters (teams are hitting .167 against him) with a larger repertoire of pitches this season.

Until this year, Wing relied on his sharp curve ball to get out of a tough spot. But with the help of Telstar High School and Locke Mills Legion coach Bob Remington, he developed a change up last summer and has learned he can rely on that and his fastball more.

“Basically what I’m trying to do is throw strikes and make them hit it,” he said.

But there are a couple more intangible differences for Wing this year that have translated into more success for Dirigo. The rest of the pitching staff is deeper and has already contributed two wins when their ace’s pitching wing needs a rest. With five wins this season, the Cougars have already matched their total for all of last season.

Wing sees the difference everywhere he looks.

“I feel comfortable with the defense behind me this year,” said Wing, who started at second base as a freshman before becoming a stalwart at shortstop and on the mound his sophomore year. “I haven’t had to strike a lot of people out and overpower them.”

“The team’s improved defensively, and offensively we’re producing a little bit. Everybody’s contributing this year,” said Wing, who plans to attend Rivier College in Nashua, N.H. in the fall. “It takes a lot of pressure off me when you have other people that can step up.”

The defense in front of him has improved, as well.

“The other big difference is just having Brandon Berry behind the plate,” McGregor said. “The two of them work well together. You get those two working together and there are very few passed balls or wild pitches, which definitely helps in high school baseball.”

“That makes my job a little easier,” he added.

Berry, a junior, said he and his buddy since childhood are on the same page whenever they take the field. Though he’s only started catching him on a regular basis this season, he knows when Wing has found his rhythm.

“I can feel it in my glove,” he said. “You can just feel it. That and when his curve ball is nasty. You can’t touch it. His change up’s real good, probably the best change up I’ve ever seen.”

A short roster has forced Wing to go behind the plate himself once this season, and McGregor knows he can count on him at any position, whether it’s his regular spot at shortstop, in center field, where he played in legion ball, or where he’s usually at his best.

“When we do get into a losing streak or whatever and I give him the ball, I feel confident that he has the ability to stop it,” McGregor said.

And start a losing streak for the opposition.