The Sanford Mainers have hired Aaron Izaryk as head coach for the 2009 season. Izaryk, a former Mainer, has finished his fourth season as an assistant coach for the University of Maine baseball team, and his second as pitching coach. In his first year as pitching coach, the Black Bear pitching staff ranked 18th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings with 8.4. In addition to working with the pitchers, Izaryk split his time giving direction to the catchers on staff. The 26-year-old has some experience coaching summer ball, serving as an assistant for the Keene Swamp Bats of the NECBL in 2006 and the Hyannis Mets of the Cape Cod League in 2007.
In his playing days, Izaryk was a four-year starter for UMaine playing in 197 games, finishing his career with a .318 batting average and 123 RBIs. In those four years, Izaryk led Maine to two America East conference titles and two berths in the NCAA tournament and he received All-Conference honors each season. In 2005 he was named a second team Academic All-American, becoming the first Maine baseball player to be named an Academic All-American. In the summer of 2004, Izaryk appeared in 22 games for the Mainers and finished with seven doubles and a .979 fielding percentage.
Izaryk, a native of Markham, Ontario, graduated in 2005 with a degree in kinesiology and physical education, and completed a master’s degree in Exercise Science in 2008.
The hiring comes in the wake of Coach Joe Brown’s resignation. Brown announced his resignation in a letter last week saying that his duties at SUNY Cortland preclude his duties as the head coach of the Sanford Mainers this summer.
Sanford Mainers upcoming schedule
June 4 @ North Shore Navigators 7 p.m.
June 5 @ Newport Gulls 6:35 p.m.
June 6 Lowell All-Americans (home opener) 6:30 p.m.
June 8 Manchester Silkworms 6:30 p.m.
June 9 @ New Bedford Bay Sox 6:30 p.m.
June 10 North Shore Navigators 6:30 p.m.
June 12 @ North Shore Navigators 7 p.m.
June 13 Newport Gulls 6:30 p.m.
June 14 @ Manchester Silkworms 7 p.m.
June 15 New Bedford Bay Sox 6:30 p.m.
June 16 @ Lowell All-Americans 6:30 p.m.
June 18 @ Keene Swamp Bats 7 p.m.
June 19 @ Holyoke Blue Sox 6:30 p.m.
June 20 Vermont Mountaineers 6:30 p.m.
June 21 @ North Adams SteepleCats 7 p.m.
June 22 Holyoke Blue Sox 6:30 p.m.
June 23 @ Danbury Westerners 6:30 p.m.
June 24 Pittsfield American Defenders 6:30 p.m.
June 26 North Shore Navigators 6:30 p.m.
June 27 Newport Gulls 6:30 p.m.
June 28 @ New Bedford Bay Sox 6 p.m.
June 29 Manchester Silkworms 6:30 p.m.
Season tickets are now available by calling the Mainers office at 324-0010.
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