Gabe White is one of Buckfield’s starting pitchers, but he learned to throw his two best pitches, curveball and changeup, from Edward Little’s coach.

“I couldn’t get anywhere where I am right now without the help from Dave,” White said. “He’s taught me pitching lessons, everything (from) hitting and fielding, and he’s really made a big improvement on how I play today.”

Look at any high school baseball team between Gray-New Gloucester and Skowhegan, and it’s not uncommon to find one or two players who Edward Little coach Dave Jordan has helped develop.

Jordan has run clinics wherever he has coached, whether at Poland (2005-08), Bates College (hitting coach, 2008-10), Lewiston (2012-13), or Edward Little (2014-present). In 2018, he started a travel baseball organization called Next Pitch.

“We sat around four teams at that point,” Jordan said. “And the emphasis a lot was to help us locally, not just Auburn, but also some of the communities locally — just to have some extra baseball to play.”

Next Pitch only had four teams when it started. It expanded to 10 in 2021 and currently has 28 teams, from the 8U level to 16U in Auburn, Farmington and Waterville. The younger age groups play against other travel organizations in southern Maine, while the older groups, which include high school players, compete in the Perfect Game New England League.

Some Next Pitch teams are affiliated with Maine Prospects, an organization that prepares players for college baseball.

Buckfield’s White has worked with Next Pitch since he was 10, attending clinics at the Ingersoll Turf facility in Auburn and playing on its travel teams.

“We started with a few kids, and then it grew to, like, where you have to cut players and everything,” White said. “It’s actually awesome to see it.”

Next Pitch had over 200 players at clinics this winter.

Most of the Edward Little team trains and plays with Next Pitch in the offseason. Jordan understands the MPA rules about coaches not being allowed to coach their athletes in the offseason. Next Pitch has seven other coaches, including Messalonskee assistant Kirby Reardon and Brady Vincent, a former Edward Little player who currently plays for Central Maine Community College.

Edward Little sophomore Adam Meserve said he makes sure to not go to Jordan’s stations during offseason clinics at Ingersoll.

“So, it’s a little hard, but I try to get in there with former teammates, just in the cages in the offseason, just any time I can,” Meserve said.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

Jordan started Next Pitch because he wants to see kids succeed and help them develop their skills.

“I’m the Edward Little coach, I love being here, I just love baseball, you know, and if somebody wants to come and put time in to learn, I want to help them with that,” Jordan said.

Spruce Mountain’s Trent Lovewell said he has gained confidence at the plate from Next Pitch and Jordan.

“So he helped me, like, keep my feet together more in a straight pattern and just really helped me get a lot more contact with the ball and stuff,” Lovewell said.

White, a senior at Buckfield, is planning to play college baseball next year. He said playing for Next Pitch travel teams in the Perfect Game New England League has been the “face of my college recruitment process.”

When players such as former Leavitt standout Noah Carpenter of Leavitt and former Edward Little star Drew Smith need a higher level of travel ball, Jordan will recommend them to another travel program, like the Maine Lightning.

“And we’ve worked well with some of those other programs also in the past when they need even a higher level to get seen,” Jordan said. “We’ll work with those.”

FRIENDS TO FOES

Jordan enjoys seeing players compete outside the Next Pitch program.

“One of my favorite moments was a couple of years ago,” Jordan said. “… The Cal Ripken state championship for the 9U was between River Valley — which is like the Turner, Greene area — and Auburn. And on the field, they were all teammates that played on the 9U team … So we had 14 Next Pitch kids that were playing with each other and against each other in the field for the state championship. So that was pretty cool.”

A game between Leavitt and Edward Little during the preseason this spring featured 20 players who went through Next Pitch. Red Eddies freshman Max Nelson said he experiences a wide range of emotions going up against Next Pitch teammates like Ryder Sawyer-Brown of Leavitt.

“So nervous, like when I see my friend pitching against me, but it’s also fun at the same time,” Nelson said. “So, I don’t really stress it.”

Over the past few years, some players have gotten the better of Jordan during the high school season. Lewiston pitcher Joe Dube beat Edward Little earlier this season. Pitcher Ross Campbell entered in a crucial spot to help Oxford Hills grab a victory last year, and Lewiston’s Brandon Farinas took a no-hitter into the seventh inning two years ago.

“There are a lot of people around that have kind of come through, and it’s been fun,” Jordan said. “It’s fun when we’re out there playing and, you know, we can have a smile and kind of chit-chat and kind of rouse each other a little bit, you know, just kind of in a friendly way. But it’s been a great experience.”