PORTLAND—There were many reasons why the Deering baseball job appealed to Tim Eisenhart, but the most profound, simply put, was that it gave him an opportunity to come home.

Eisenhart, a 1989 DHS graduate, has been nominated to succeed Mark Sutton as the coach of the storied Rams program. His hiring will become official after receiving school board approval.

“I had an amazing baseball experience at Deering under (former coach) Mort Soule,” Eisenhart said. “It’s great to be a part of such a strong tradition of coaches. I really just want to carry on the tradition.”

Eisenhart was a shortstop and pitcher both at Deering and at Clarkson University. He also played soccer and basketball in high school. Eisenhart coached baseball at Bowdoin College for two years, was the assistant varsity coach at Westbrook for five seasons and taught at Frozen Ropes for six years. He also spent three years as an assistant coach with the Deering girls’ basketball team.

A civil engineering major in college, Eisenhart switched to education at age 30 and wound up at Westbrook High, where he’s been a freshman math teacher for nine years.

Looking ahead to the spring, Deering will be a vastly different team, after graduating 14 players, but Eisenhart is ready for the challenge.

“The expectations are there for the kids to win,” Eisenhart said. “This will be a young group we’ll be developing. The exciting thing for me is being able to start fresh. I’m excited about the quality of kids coming in. We’ll focus on fundamentals.”

Deering athletic director Melanie Craig said that Eisenhart was the candidate who most impressed the selection committee.

“I’m thrilled Tim’s the candidate we’ve put forth,” Craig said. “He brings many years of experience. He sets such a high bar. There are a lot of banners hanging on the wall and there’s pressure and expectations. The committee felt he’d step up and meet those expectations, if not exceed them. He’s a teacher-coach. He has strong relationships with his students. I think we’ll see a lot of cohesiveness.”

The Rams have won 12 Class A state titles and finished 13-4 in 2011, dropping a 7-5 decision to Marshwood in the Western A quarterfinals.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.