Portsmouth H.S. star shining in college

MANCHESTER, N.H. (WPRI) - Former Portsmouth High School All-State baseball star Tim Flight has kept the winning spirit alive after high school.

In fact, he's dominated NCAA Division II baseball this season with Southern New Hampshire University going 7-1 with a 1.17 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 84 innings.  That makes him second best nationally in strokeouts and third best in ERA.

"Tim's been a great kid the whole time he's been here," his coach, Scott Loiselle, said. "In terms of his stuff, it's just gotten better every single day."

Flight's efforts have helped Southern New Hampshire earn their first ever NCAA Tournament berth, and, in their first postseason game, Flight struck out 13 batters in a 3-0 shutout victory.

Flight's success has drawn interest from Major League scouts which may mean he will head for the professional ranks come this June's draft.

"To be honest, I've tried not to think about it," Flight says of the upcoming draft. "There's nothing I can do to control it. I just have to pitch every single game that I can and do the best that I can. If a team likes me -- awesome.  If not, that's just the best that I can do."

For now, Flight is focusing on the team's success which he credits to all the players and coaches on SNHU.

"We've got the guys who want to win, and we've got the coaches who can coach us and want to win more than anything," said Flight.

SNHU, which won the East Region, will face Minnesota State-Mankato, the champions of the Central Region, in the first round of the Division II College World Series in Cary, N.C on Saturday, May 26 at 5:00 pm.