Sanford Mainers shortstop Sterling Hayes shows his athleticism during an NECBL game this summer. Hayes is a sophomore at Vanderbilt and used the Commodores’ College World Series run as motivation. (Frisby Photography)

SANFORD — Watching your teammates succeed without you can be a driving force in an athlete’s quest for success.

For Vanderbilt sophomore and Sanford Mainers infielder Sterling Hayes, seeing his fellow Commodores celebrate a College World Series in late June without him has served as motivation during his first season in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL).

“(Watching Vanderbilt win) definitely put a chip on my shoulder,” Hayes said. “But, at the same time, I was here (in Sanford) getting better.”

Hayes, a native of San Diego, California, appeared in five games during the regular season with the Commodores, but he didn’t make their postseason roster. Vanderbilt associate head coach Scott Brown, who managed the Mainers from 2002-04, spoke with current Mainers head coach Cejay Suarez about bringing Hayes to Sanford for the summer. Both coaches agreed that Hayes flashed impressive defensive upside, and they both agreed the talented shortstop needed to see more live pitching to get comfortable at the collegiate level.

“(When I talked to Scott), we … talked about how he’s going to need more at-bats heading into the fall so he’ll do well in fall-ball,” Suarez said. “We only took one shortstop for our team, and he was our guy.”

One of the deciding factors that led Hayes to Sanford was the positive experiences his Vanderbilt teammates Harrison Ray and Jackson Gillis had with the Mainers in 2017. Hayes, who came to Vanderbilt as the No. 16 high school shortstop prospect in California, admitted that he dealt with an adjustment period at the start of the season as a result of not seeing many at-bats during the school year to being penciled in toward the top of Sanford’s batting order.

Entering Wednesday’s game at Vermont, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound infielder is batting .244 with 33 hits, six doubles and 20 runs scored, which ranks fourth on the team. 

“Early on, it was a little tough to get back into it,” Hayes said. “But after a few weeks, I felt like I was back and doing well. Ever since (the beginning of the year), I feel like I’ve been doing well, and it’s been fun.”

Through the first 14 games of the season, Hayes batted .192. In the 29 games since, he’s hit .287 in 101 at-bats with six doubles, a homer, 16 RBIs and six multi-hit games. He also logged two hitting streaks of five and six games in that span. Hayes attributes his turnaround to a simple mindset: He just wanted to help the Mainers win.

“Since I came in, I’ve been trying to do what I can, which is to just play well, play hard and help the team win,” Hayes said. “It’s been a fun summer so far.”

Suarez agrees with Hayes that there were some growing pains, but Suarez credits Hayes’ dedication to improving both on and off the diamond.

“(Sterling) has had his ups-and-downs, like a lot of freshmen do,” Saurez said. “But he’s persevered, and he’s a great human being. He’s going to win in the game of life long after baseball.”

Sanford entered Wednesday’s game at Vermont in sixth place in the Northern Division, and, while Hayes would love to be fighting for a playoff spot, he gets that his time in Sanford and in the NECBL was well-spent. 

“Whenever you’re on the field, you want to win,” he said. “We struggled early in the year, but (Suarez) has stayed positive and has encouraged us. He’s emphasized the reason why we’re here, which is for development.”

The Mainers end their season Thursday with a home game at Goodall Park against the North Adams SteepleCats. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.