LSU lures Monks ace Furbush

Charlie Furbush is transferring to Louisiana State University this fall to see where else his left arm can take him.

Furbush, the former South Portland High ace who blossomed into a legitimate pro baseball prospect with Division III St. Joseph's College over the last two years, accepted a full scholarship to LSU in the midst of a banner summer in the Cape Cod League.

Furbush was wooed by at least a dozen programs when pitching last summer on the Cape, but opted to return to Standish and play for St. Joseph's Coach Will Sanborn.

This time, however, the lure of a Division I program in the Southeastern Conference was too much to pass up. Unlike a player transferring from one Division I school to another, Furbush will be eligible to play immediately. It is likely he will spend just one year in Baton Rouge because he is eligible for the major league baseball draft next spring.

"It's really exciting," said Furbush. "Having two seasons in the Cape Cod League, coming from Maine, it's kind of an honor. Having an opportunity to transfer somewhere else means a lot to me."

Furbush is 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA for the Hyannis Mets. He has 43 strikeouts and has allowed just eight earned runs in 48 innings.

The Monks, who reached the NCAA Division III New England Regionals this spring, were saddened when Furbush shared the news. Not only was he the staff ace, but he played first base on off-days and batted in the heart of the order.

"We're disappointed he's not coming back here. I've got people from the president of the college on down who were very interested in his return and sorry that he's not coming back," said Sanborn. "I think wherever he ends up and however he ends up in baseball, St. Joe's has played an important role in his development. That's as a baseball player and as a person."

Sanborn had hoped Furbush would be drafted from his program. He has long expected a bright future for Furbush, whose fastball is in the 90s.

"He's going to have opportunities in baseball for a long, long time to come," said Sanborn. "The thing scouts will be looking for is does he continue to get better. There are a ton of guys who pitch in the minor leagues every day who throw as hard as he does. But can he get better? Every indication is he's a long, long way from peaking out."

Sanborn recruited Furbush after his senior year at South Portland High when few schools were interested in the lanky, 6-foot-5 lefty.

"I can't say how much credit I've got to give to (Coach Sanborn)," said Furbush. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to get down here and play. He was really the one who stuck his foot out and said 'hey come join this team."'

Furbush's new coach will be Paul Mainieri, the former head coach at Notre Dame, who recently was named head coach at LSU. Mainieri was not available for comment.

Furbush said Mainieri's reputation for developing pitchers struck a chord with him.

"I'd heard from numerous people that Notre Dame had a good reputation with pitchers. That stood out to me," said Furbush. "And they're going into the same situation I'm going into, coming into a whole new program."

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