June 1, 2010

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Triton Regional High School alumnus Cam Kneeland will likely spend the summer testing his hand against the best college baseball players in the nation.

The UMass Lowell sophomore third baseman plans to sign a temporary contract with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League on June 8. The CCBL is widely considered the top amateur baseball league in the country, as many top Division 1 athletes venture to the Cape following their respective college seasons.

Kneeland's temporary contract will extend through the time when all contracted Firebird players report to the team; several are still playing in the NCAA Division 1 Tournament.

Kneeland will join UMass Lowell teammate Jack Leathersich, a Beverly High alumnus, on the Firebirds. In the 2009 MLB Draft, the CCBL produced 234 selections. Many of the top major league stars played in the CCBL, including two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira and Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis.

"If you say you're playing in the Cape Cod League, people know it's great baseball," Kneeland said. "I know it will be the best competition I've ever seen. I hope my name gets out there."

UMass Lowell baseball coach Ken Harring, an Amesbury resident, advocated to Orleans coach Kelly Nicholson on Kneeland's behalf once he learned that Leathersich was going to be a Firebird. Harring, who coached in the CCBL in the late 1990s, asked Nicholson if Kneeland could attend the June 5 tryout, which is open to 90 players vying for 30 roster spots.

"I called the coach and said, 'I have another kid who can play everywhere, and it would be great if he could try out,'" Harring said. "The Orleans coach said, 'Why even bother with the tryout? Why don't we just sign him?'"

Kneeland will have the opportunity to earn a permanent contract if he plays well in the time before the last of the late-arriving Orleans players return from the College World Series. Harring, a former assistant at Northeastern University who coached Haverhill's Carlos Pena, now a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, said Pena was successful in parlaying a temporary contract in the CCBL into a full-time roster spot.

"Carlos went down on a temporary contract and became the MVP of the league," Harring said. "Look at him now. When I was down in the Cape League, I coached guys like (Phillies second baseman) Chase Utley and (Orioles first baseman) Garrett Atkins. It's the best college league in the country, and Cam's going to get a chance to show people what kind of baseball we play at UMass Lowell."

As a sophomore, Kneeland led UMass Lowell in batting average (.313), RBIs (43), doubles (16) and slugging percentage (.508). He was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-East Region First Team, Northeast-10 All-Conference First Team, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-East Region First Team and Daktronics All-East Region Second Team.

"We basically plugged Cam in at third base and the three-hole in the order, and he made a huge impact for us," Harring said. "Cam has a chance, if he hits the weights like I know he will, to be a special player. He works his tail off, and everything that happens to him is due to his hard work."

Before Kneeland leaves for Orleans, where he plans to stay with a host family, he will play in the 2010 New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association All-Star game June 6 at Fenway Park.

Kneeland, who was unsure of whether he would even play baseball in college until late spring of his senior year of high school, is satisfied with the track his athletic career has taken at UMass Lowell.

"Going to UMass Lowell is the best thing I've done so far," Kneeland said. "I wasn't sure where I'd go, and coach Harring decided to take me. I want to be the best baseball player I can be for him and the program."