BIDDEFORD — There’s a difference, Biddeford pitching coach Shawn Descoteaux says, between being a thrower and actually being a pitcher.

A thrower gets to the mound with little idea of how to go after a hitter, and little control over his pitches, hoping that pure ability and speed will lead to outs. A pitcher steps to the rubber with a firm idea of what he’s doing, and has the command over his pitches, and his temperament, to go about putting that plan into action.

As a sophomore, in his first year on the Tigers’ varsity staff, Nate Huot was more of a thrower, racking up a respectable 2-2 record and 3.29 ERA in limited work.

But this spring, Huot evolved into a pitcher, and quickly became one of the state’s best.

Utilizing a devastating curveball and deadly changeup to go along with a well-located fastball, Huot flummoxed SMAA competition all season, racking up video game-like numbers ”“ a 7-0 record, 0.62 ERA and .149 batting average against in 45 innings on the mound. Huot’s win total and innings pitched led the league, while his ERA and opponents’ batting average were both third.

And to show it just wasn’t his left arm that could affect a game, Huot was also one of the best hitters in the league, batting .442 (third best in the league) with 13 runs batted in (second most), while compiling a .969 fielding percentage on the mound and at first base.

For his massive all-around contributions to Biddeford’s surprise 14-3 season both on the mound and at the plate, Huot is the 2014 Journal Tribune Baseball Player of the Year.

“I just thought the biggest change form year one to year two was him having command of his pitches,” Biddeford head coach Keith LeBlanc said. “He consistently was ahead in the count, could throw all of his pitches for strikes, and that was the biggest thing. Last year, that wasn’t the case, and he’d be behind a lot; this year, he was zoned in.”

“He had total confidence in what he was doing. Physically, mentally, he matured quite a bit,” Descoteaux said. “He understands what he needs to do in that 60-foot game.

“A lot of high school kids think they can just try to blow a fastball by people and get away with it, but that’s not our philosophy. We want kids to be a pitcher, to be able to throw a changeup and a curveball in a 3-2 count. He’s bought into that, and that’s why he can pitch differently.”

Pitching to contact more than most of the top starters in the state, Huot was also helped by the best defense in the SMAA as Biddeford committed just 16 errors all season, ensuring that unearned runs didn’t score and that pitchers didn’t have to throw extra pitches when the inning should have already been over.

That defensive effort was led by shortstop Corey Creeger, who had a 1.000 fielding percentage, as did catcher Corey Brown, a three-year varsity starter who was a virtual brick wall behind the plate.

“When you’ve got a 3-2 count and the tying run on third late in the game, and we’re calling for a curveball in the dirt, to have a kid like Corey Brown catching, it’s never a question if he’s going to block it or not. It’s never an issue,” Descoteaux said. “That absolutely helped Nate.”

Huot was at his best when his team needed him the most down the stretch, allowing just two earned runs in his final three regular-season starts ”“ all complete games.

One of those was against rival Thornton Academy on May 24, when he allowed one earned run and struck out six to lead Biddeford to a 6-3 victory, leaving Thornton head coach Ray Petit plenty impressed.

“He kept a lot of good teams off-balance. He did a really great job from where he was to where he is this year. You can see he’s worked hard to get to where he is,” Petit said. “His breaking stuff got better, and he knows where to throw it now. When he’s throwing it to a righty, he’s busting it in on the hands, or he’s going in the back door. If you’ve got your off-speed stuff working, you don’t have to throw that hard.”

Huot also showed off his bat against the Golden Trojans, coming up with three two-out RBI hits in the game. After having two hits in just 10 at-bats as a sophomore, Huot’s hitting provided a major boost for the Tigers this season as he led the team in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, RBIs, walks and total bases.

“He had a lot of big hits. His hitting was surprising,” LeBlanc said. “Last summer, he hit OK, but I think he worked on that in the offseason. He loves lifting and weight training, and I think the strength really helped him. Once he got a few hits, he got on a roll and just kept on plugging away.”

Huot was even better in his next start against Marshwood, allowing just two hits and one run as the Tigers took a 2-1 victory in a battle between the second and third-ranked teams in the SMAA.

But he left perhaps his best for last. In the quarterfinal-round playoff game against Windham, Huot threw a full 10 innings, needing just over 100 pitches to do it as he kept Biddeford going in a 1-1 game, coming out only due to the 10-inning limit.

The Tigers went on lose the game 2-1 in 12 innings, but it did little to diminish Huot’s gem of a performance.

“Those were two very big spots,” Descoteaux said of the Marshwood and Windham games. “You want your best pitcher to pitch in those two games and pitch well in those two games, and those were probably his best performances of the year, giving up two runs in 17 innings. You can’t ask for anything more from a pitcher.”

The Tigers will be asking for simply more of the same from their emerging ace come next spring.

“If he’s able to have command of his pitches like he did this year, he’ll have a great year again,” LeBlanc said.

“Knowing Nate, he’ll work even harder this off-season and be even better next year,” Descoteaux added.

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.