ORONO, Maine — UMass Lowell coach Ken Harring joked that he remembered University of Maine closer Matt Pushard when he was a freshman.
“It was our first year in the league. Nine years ago,” quipped Harring following Sunday’s 7-6 UMaine win.
“That’s actually kind of true,” UMaine head coach Nick Derba said with a laugh on Tuesday.
In reality, Pushard is in his sixth year at UMaine. He was a medical redshirt one year and then received an extra year of eligibility along with all student-athletes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And now the Brewer native has registered a career-high five saves so far this season to go with his 2-1 record for the America East-leading Black Bears.
The Black Bears have won nine in a row and are 15-3 in the conference, 19-14 overall.
His statistics line also shows a lofty 7.40 earned run average, although if you eliminate a pair of rough outings against North Dakota State (5 earned runs in 1 ⅓ innings) and Albany (4 earned runs in one inning), his ERA is a much more respectable 3.97.
In 20 ⅔ innings, the righthander has allowed 28 hits and 11 walks while striking out 32. Opponents are hitting .318 off him.
The good news for the Black Bears is he is coming off what he feels was his best outing of the season, two innings of hitless shutout relief with five strikeouts in UMaine’s 8-5 win over UMass Lowell on Saturday night.
“He was bringing it,” said Harring, referring to Pushard’s fastball, which has been clocked as high as 98 mph.
“He has the hardest fastball in the conference. As a hitter, he’s not someone you want to face at all,” said UMaine sophomore second baseman Quinn McDaniel.
“I would back that up,” said UMaine freshman first baseman and designated hitter Jeremiah Jenkins. “He has a lively fastball that comes in at 94 to 98 mph consistently with a little bit of run on it.”
Pushard said that he has two fastballs: a four-seamer and a two-seamer.
“The four-seamer is heavy and carries the whole way [through the strike zone]. The two-seamer is like a sinker,” he said.
He also has a change-up that he throws in the mid-80s and an offspeed curve he brings up to the plate at 78-82 mph.
He is confident he can throw all of his pitches for strikes.
“He has real [good] stuff. He just has to be able to command it more,” Derba said.
Derba said there have been some mechanical flaws that have hampered Pushard’s consistency but that the pitcher made progress last weekend.
“If he is able to do that, that’s a professional arm,” Derba said.
The 24-year-old Pushard isn’t your typical one-inning closer. Three of his 10 outings have seen him throw at least three innings and three others have been at least two innings.
“I like any role,” said the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Pushard. “I’m just waiting for them to call my name. I’ll do whatever I need to do. I love competing. And I hate losing.”
He hasn’t let his difficult outings impact him.
“Baseball is a game of failure,” said Pushard, adding that sometimes you have good stuff but the opponents are still able to hit you.
“That’s just baseball. I learn from my failures. It makes me better.”
Pushard had a team-high three saves and a 3.78 ERA over 33 ⅓ innings a year ago. He struck out 24 and walked 11 while making nine relief appearances and three starts.
Derba said Pushard is going to be important for the Black Bears in their America East championship aspirations.
“We’re hoping he is the guy we saw against Lowell who struck out five out of six,” Derba said. “He is good enough to be able to do that more consistently if he continues to work on the things we’ve been working on and he settles in.”
Derba said Pushard has “learned a lot and has matured a lot” during his career.
“He came in here as a freshman out of shape and not ready to compete. But he has put the time in and gotten stronger.”