A journey that began with the two-lane, four-hour bus trips of Class D high school baseball has ended in the hall of fame for Brent Dan.

Dan, a native of Sumner, was enshrined in the Saint Joseph’s College Athletic Hall of Fame earlier this month. The Buckfield Junior-Senior High School graduate headlined a class that also featured basketball and softball player Sue Picard, Sister Joyce Mahany and the 1977 St. Joe’s baseball team.

He is the 11th baseball player to earn the recognition.

“Brent Dan is one of the top pitchers in the history of our program,” St. Joe’s baseball coach Will Sanborn said in a news release.

The numbers underscore Dan’s status. He averaged a strikeout per inning for his career, 220 in all, while rolling up a 21-10 career record. That included a perfect 8-0 campaign with a 1.86 ERA and 70 strikeouts as a junior.

St. Joe’s went 38-6 that year and won 71 percent of its games during Dan’s career, the most successful four-year segment in the history of the program.

“I will always remember Brent for one of the great pitching performances in Monks history,” Sanborn said, referring to the 2002 NAIA Northeast Regional championship round. “Brent carried our team with a complete-game victory over Dominican in the first game, followed by a save in game two. His performance that day is one of the greatest examples of determination and guts I have ever seen on the mound.”

Dan was an All-America selection in 2001 and a two-time all-conference choice. St. Joe’s won three league and two New England championships in his career.

Seven years later, Dan remains second on the school’s career list in wins and strikeouts. And in perhaps the most telling statistic, he is still third in innings pitched.

“Brent was a real competitor; the type of guy you wnat on the mound for a big game,” said Sanborn. “Brent was old-school. A real bulldog. If he started a game, he wanted to finish it.”

CENTER OF ATTENTION

When your college football team doubles its win total and flaunts one of the most prolific offenses in New England, the explanation begins — and possibly even ends — with the offensive line.

Nate Chantrill of Auburn anchored that dramatic improvement by Springfield (Mass.) College this season. The 5-foot-9, 230-pound Edward Little High School graduate started at center for the Pride as a senior.

Springfield scored 42 or more points in six of its ten games, jumping from 4-6 to 8-2 while losing only to powerful Alfred and St. John Fisher. The Pride averaged 39.5 points and 425 total yards per game and amassed a staggering 3,470 net rushing yards for the season. Springfield’s rushing offense was No. 2 nationally, trailing only Maine Maritime.

BOATLOAD OF AWARDS

Speaking of Maine Maritime, the New England Football Conference applied the exclamation point to the Mariners’ championship season by naming nine players to the All-Bogan Division team. Four of those players have local ties.

Jim Bower of South Paris was selected player of the year and a first-team offensive selection. Bower, a fullback out of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, concluded the campaign with 1,605 yards and 22 touchdowns. His two-year totals: 3,324 yards and 47 scores.

Bower ranked No. 1 in Division III in individual rushing yardage per game and No. 2 in scoring.

Senior quarterback Tyler Angell of Leeds (Leavitt) also earned a first-team offensive nod. Angell threw a touchdown pass on the final play of regulation to give Maine Maritime a 48-42 victory over Curry in the NEFC title game.

Travis Fergola of Mexico (Mountain Valley) earned first-team defensive recognition for his exploits at middle linebacker, where he logged 85 tackles.

Livermore Falls product Mike Durrell was a second-team offensive line selection.

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