BANGOR, Maine — Trevor DeLaite’s baseball career at Bangor High School has been so dominant that even the low points have been remarkable by most pitchers’ standards.
The senior left-hander, who has won 20 of his 22 decisions over four years while helping the Rams win Class A state championships in each of the last two seasons, was named the 2016 Maine Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year on Tuesday.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes DeLaite as Maine’s best high school baseball player.
“DeLaite is probably the toughest pitcher I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching,” Christian Boileau, head coach at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, said. “He’s a lefty who throws in the mid-80s and really mixes things up. He has the whole repertoire, and he pounds the strike zone.”
DeLaite became just the second Bangor High School player to win the state’s Gatorade baseball award. Matt Kinney, who went on to pitch in the major leagues and is now the varsity baseball coach at Hermon High School, was the 1995 recipient for the Rams.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound DeLaite is 5-1 on the mound this spring for Bangor, which is 13-1 after a 1-0 loss to Edward Little of Auburn on Monday.
He has struck out 65 batters and walked four while yielding just 17 hits and two earned runs over 40 innings of work. He also is batting .372 with 13 RBIs.
DeLaite had a streak of 39⅔ consecutive scoreless innings ended when EL scored its run with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. He finished that game with a two-hitter requiring just 81 pitches.
His other career loss at the high school level also came despite pitching a complete-game two-hitter during his freshman season in 2013.
“I think his accuracy is what separates him from other high school pitchers,” Bangor coach Jeff Fahey said. “He can pitch. He puts the ball where he wants to most of the time.”
The University of Maine-bound DeLaite is 20-2 during his varsity career at Bangor to go with a 21-1 record and two state championships as part of the Coffee News of Bangor American Legion team.
“The fact that he hasn’t missed a start and also plays in the field when he’s not pitching and is one of our better hitters and a good baserunner in my opinion all factor into Trevor being selected as the best player in the state of Maine,” Fahey said.
“His preparation both physically and mentally is more than most high school kids, certainly. I just think he’s very deserving, and I think in this particular case his numbers certainly prove it, too.”
Fahey cited the numerous high-pressure situations in which DeLaite has thrived as a key part of a Bangor pitching staff that also has included recent graduates Curtis Worcester, Justin Courtney and Andrew Hillier.
DeLaite also was one of four finalists last winter for the 2016 Travis Roy Award symbolic of the state’s top Class A hockey player, and he has maintained a 3.11 grade-point average. He has volunteered locally on behalf of the Special Olympics.
