By Barry Scanlon, Lowell Sun


LOWELL -- The only thing better in Ken Harring's world than a doubleheader is playing three games in one day.

To say the UMass Lowell coach is enthusiastic about baseball is an understatement. We're talking about a guy whose heart races when he's scouting a game in March.

So when he hears the name of UML second baseman Pat Devlin, his eyes sparkle, his grin widens and his enthusiasm boils over.

"He plays the game the right way. He's a great kid. He does everything with an energy you can't teach," Harring said. "He has a pretty intense motor that's always running. That kind of energy rubs off on other kids. It's just infectious. His energy at the top of the order has definitely had an effect on the rest of the team. He plays with a reckless abandon and a swagger."

Devlin, a former Tewksbury High standout, has made an immediate impact as a freshman.

A powerful 5-11, 200-pound athlete with good speed, Devlin is a major reason why the River Hawks went 8-2 in Florida -- it's rare for New England teams to leave the Sunshine State better than .500 -- and carried a 11-3 overall record (4-0 in the Northeast-10) into today's game at Stonehill.

Batting leadoff, Devlin leads the River Hawks with a .396 average, 19 hits, seven steals, and a .521 slugging percentage. And he's been terrific defensively as well, making 31 putouts and playing errorless ball at second base despite the fact that he was mainly a third baseman at Tewksbury High.

He turns the double play as good as anybody in the conference," Harring said.
Devlin didn't know what to expect when he arrived at UMass Lowell.

Yes, he was a star at Tewksbury. As a senior, he was a Sun all-star after hitting .410 with 26 runs, 19 RBI, 2 home runs and 12 steals. But college is different. Pitchers throw harder, with greater accuracy and more pitches at their disposal.

His numbers indicate his transition has been seamless.

"Is it easier?" he said of college ball. "No, definitely not. It's a lot different. I'm just trying to keep doing the same things I did in high school. In high school I saw a lot of good pitching, too. We were a good team so we pretty much saw every other team's ace."

Devlin said his transition to college has been smooth for two reasons. One, his teammates made him feel at home the first day he stepped on campus. Two, the River Hawks are playing terrifically, with seven straight victories.

"Our team chemistry is awesome," Devlin said. "We played a lot of very good teams (in Florida). We didn't exactly know how we were going to do."

Harring said Devlin deserves plenty of credit for UML's success during their Southern swing.

In UML's first game, in Virginia, Devlin hit the first pitch he saw as a collegiate player off the top of the fence. And there's more to the story. Harring said a vicious wind was blowing in and the pitcher, the ace of C.W. Post, is an All-Region selection, making Devlin's introduction to college baseball all the more impressive.

Later, in Florida, in UML's conference opener against New Haven, Devlin smacked a leadoff homer which sailed over the fence and one-hopped into a pond.

"We threw him at the top of the order and he's never looked back," Harring said. "You ask the upperclassmen about Pat Devlin and they'll say, 'Wow, what an impact he's made.' "

Devlin, a football star at Tewksbury as well, has been timed in 6.6 seconds in the 60-yard dash. For comparison, the average time for a Major League player is 7.0 seconds, according to Harring.

Devlin took up weightlifting prior to his junior year in high school. Since then he's gone from 170 pounds to 200. He has no plans to stop working.

He dreams of playing professionally.

How good has Devlin been?

He's taken over the leadoff role from Tim Manton, who graduated last spring with the second most hits in program history, and Harring said the River Hawks haven't skipped a beat at the top of the order.

"In high school when the competition got better he stepped up his game," Harring said. "He's always in the middle of something good."