Scituate's O'Brien to pitch for Georgia

A few months ago, Scituate High pitcher Blaine O'Brien was unsure if many college coaches knew his name. A sore elbow had limited his pitching appearances his sophomore and junior seasons, but this summer he suited up for an AAU team in Georgia and made quite an impression. Soon, he was attracting the attention of a number of schools.

Recently, O'Brien verbally committed to play at the University of Georgia next year. The first day he can sign a national letter of intent is Nov. 14, during the early signing period.

"They have an unbelievable facility," and the 3,291-seat Foley Field "is unbelievable," O'Brien said. "When I went on the tour I fell in love with the campus. It's a great school."

A 6-foot-7, 185-pound right-hander, O'Brien may not have received the accolades because of his injuries, but a number of people were aware of his vast potential. Former Braintree resident Rick DelVecchio watched O'Brien grow up in the South Shore Baseball club, where DelVecchio was a member of the organization. Last year, DelVecchio moved to Georgia to work in baseball operations with East Cobb Baseball, an AAU team recognized as one of the top programs in the country.

DelVecchio said he invited O'Brien to play a few weeks with the team this summer.

"The way he commands the lower third of the strike zone; that's his biggest asset. . . . He's so big, so strong and so durable and professional organizations are looking for guys like that," DelVecchio said.

O'Brien was used in relief this summer and was consistently clocked between 88 and 92 miles per hour, according to DelVecchio. The University of Florida and Vanderbilt also showed interest in O'Brien.

Scituate High varsity coach Kevin Greer was not surprised when he heard O'Brien had caught the attention of a Division 1 program. Last season, Greer used O'Brien as a closer toward the end of the year and found he could shut most teams down.

"Anybody that is that size is going to be intimidating," Greer said. "He's got a beautiful fastball and he throws a changeup. . . . He's like Randy Johnson from the right side, but he throws like Pedro Martinez with that whipping action to his arm."

O'Brien also has shown he can be a contributor on the basketball court, playing for varsity coach Matt Poirier.

Now that his college choice is finalized, O'Brien said, he can focus on his senior year at Scituate.

"I just wanted to get everything out of the way, so I didn't have to worry about all the applying and waiting around," he said.

3 Bay Farm alumni in cycling contest

Three fathers of students at the Bay Farm Montessori Academy in Duxbury will compete this week in the Paris-Brest-Paris, a cycling event held every four years in France. Hauke Kite-Powell, Garth Hoffman, and Peter Dobyns also are alumni of the academy.

Kite-Powell has participated in the 750-mile ride three times, in 1987, 1991, and 1999. He is returning to join his two friends in their first ride, which has to be completed within 90 hours.

"To me, these three fathers represent some of the finer characteristics of Montessori education: They are challenging themselves, supporting each other, taking initiative and interaction on a global level," said Kevin Clark, Bay Farm Montessori Academy's head of school.

Navigators place 4th at nationals

The New England Navigators AAU under-13 baseball team recently finished fourth at the Division II national championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C., compiling a 6-3 record. Under the direction of Mike Shea, Mike Rega, Steve Faber, and Doug Curley, the Pembroke-based Navigators finished the season with a 27-17-1 record.

Team members included: Jordan Budwey and Ryan Shea of Abington; Drew Cobin, Jamie Faber, Pat Kearney, and Pat MacCormack of Cohasset; Kenny Brodie and Shane Holmes of East Bridgewater; Brady Gill and Mike McGuiggan of Marshfield; Teddy Gregory of Mansfield; Matt King and Matt Rega of Scituate; and Taylor Bradford of West Bridgewater.

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.