SMCC Sends Four To NCAA Division III Programs

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine— Four student-athletes of the Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) class of 2017-18 have found new homes in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III athletics. Alicia Ruth (Plaistow, N.H.), Amos Herrin (Wilton, Maine), Evan Leveroni (Sandown, N.H.), and Matthew Toth (Sanford, Maine) will all continue their playing careers and pursue bachelor degrees at the next level beginning this fall.

Alicia Ruth, Fitchburg State University

Alicia Ruth, a 5’2’’ guard from Plaistow, N.H., played two seasons under Coach Katie Bergeron as a member of the Lady SeaWolves’ women’s basketball team. Ruth finished her SMCC career as one of the deadliest three-point shooters in program history. In 54 career games, Ruth averaged 9.9 points per game at a 38.7 percent clip from beyond the arc (137-354). In her first season (2016-17), Ruth set a new single-season program record making 74 three-pointers on her way to a Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) All-Conference second-team selection. In the same season, Ruth made a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national tournament appearance and helped lead the Lady SeaWolves to their largest win total in program history, 24. A team captain her sophomore season, Ruth will transfer to Fitchburg State University to study Psychology and will join a Falcons squad that finished 9-17 a year ago.

“I could not be more excited to add Ally to our Falcon Family for the 2018-19 season. Her outside shooting prowess is a perfect fit for our up-tempo spread offense that we have employed over the last two seasons, but more than that she is an exceptional young lady with extremely high character. She is a perfect fit in every sense of the word, and we can’t wait to have her in green and gold next October!”

-- Daniel Nagle, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Fitchburg State University

Amos Herrin, University of Southern Maine

Amos Herrin finished his career as one of the most decorated baseball players in SeaWolf history. Hailing from Wilton, Maine, Herrin played three seasons (2015-18) contributing as both a pitcher and infielder. Now SMCC’s strikeout king, the right-hander amassed 178 punch outs and 10.90 K/9 among 147.0 innings pitched. At the plate, Herrin recorded a career .317 batting average and .458 on-base percentage spanning 208 at-bats.

Herrin finished his career as a three-time YSCC Champion, a three-time YSCC Player of the Week, a YSCC All-Conference selection (2017), YSCC Pitcher of the Year (2018), YSCC Tournament MVP (2018), a USCAA Academic All-American (2018), and a USCAA First-Team All-American (2018).

To add to his final year in blue and white, Herrin led the USCAA in strikeouts and K/9—108 and 13.82. “Moose” will transfer to the University of Southern Maine in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and will compete for a Huskie roster spot at tryouts in the fall.

Evan Leveroni, Curry College

Evan Leveroni played one season as a member of the SeaWolves baseball team in the spring of 2018. Leveroni did most of the work behind the plate for Coach Jordan Yanni and compiled a .274 batting average along with a .340 on-base percentage in 84 at-bats for SMCC. The New Hampshire native, collected three RBI’s in the YSCC championship tournament to help SMCC to their third consecutive conference title.

Leveroni will move on to play for Coach Paul Bortolotti at Curry College. The Colonels who compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) finished 10-19 overall and 4-12 in league action a year ago.

Matthew Toth, St. Joseph’s College of Maine

Matthew Toth was a serviceable utility player for the SeaWolves baseball program last spring. The Sanford High School graduate played in 20 games to tally a .321 on-base percentage in 41 plate appearances. Toth will attend St. Joseph’s College of Maine to continue his education and playing career for the Monks. SJC, an affiliate of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), played to a 29-13 overall record and finished as conference runners-up a season ago.

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