University of Massachusets Athletics
Franczek, Adamski Feel At Home At UMass
May 11, 2006 | Baseball
May 11, 2006
AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts baseball coach Mike Stone wasn't sure at first if Ryan Franczek would cut it in Division I.
Bryan Adamski wasn't sure for a time when - and how well - he'd be able to play at all.
Yesterday at Lorden Field, Franczek and Adamski played key roles in the Minutemen's 9-6 victory over St. Bonaventure, the latest contributions by the two Western Massachusetts corner infielders.
"I've been swinging the bat pretty well," said Franczek, the sophomore third baseman from Chicopee Comprehensive High who had two hits as leadoff man, raising his average to .321. "It's so much easier to hit when everyone else is hitting, too."
"First base is going pretty well, and I'm excited to be pitching, too," said Adamski, a junior from Frontier Regional of South Deerfield, and yesterday's winning pitcher with four innings of relief - his 14th and longest relief appearance this season.
Adamski played shortstop for UMass last year, then third base for the Holyoke Giants in the summer's New England Collegiate Baseball League season.
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The move not only strengthened the infield defense, it eased the everyday demands on Adamski's arm, giving him more opportunity to pitch. His ERA of 3.23 is by far the team's best.
Adamski is lucky to be playing at all.
As a freshman at Teikyo Post in Waterbury, Conn., he hit .369 in 2003, but just before his sophomore season at the Division II school, a medicine ball landed on his head during a workout accident. It cost him the entire 2004 season and nearly much more, for the vertebrae sustained tremendous damage.
"I was a mess," Adamski said. "I still go to a chiropractor once a month to get adjusted."
During his time off, he transferred to UMass. Playing shortstop, he hit .263 last year, and did not pitch.
Adamski hasn't forgotten Teikyo Post.
"Had I not missed a season with the injury, I'd be a senior now," he said. "Post had its graduation Saturday, and the guys I knew there called me up, they all grabbed the phone and wished me well."
Adamski is hitting .301. He leads the team in home runs (4) and RBIs (25), with Franczek (2 homers, 24 RBIs) second in both categories.
Yesterday, Adamski improved his pitching mark to 2-2 with the victory in relief of East Longmeadow's Rory McDonald, while outfielder Derrick Durepo of Ware had three RBIs.
For Franczek, only an outstanding senior high school season in 2004 caused him to reconsider his intention to play for Elms College in Division III.
"I didn't sign with UMass until July," he said. "I'd been planning just to go somewhere to keep playing and have fun, and I'd been committed to Elms."
Stone said he wasn't sure he was getting a Division I-caliber player, but says Franczek - who has raised his average 86 points from last year's .235 mark - has worked and willed himself into succeeding.
"He wanted to play Division I, but right into that fall (of Franczek's freshman year), it was touch and go," Stone said. "He has a tremendous work ethic, though, and he loves to compete. He's become a legitimate Division I player."
In Adamski's case, the infielder says the corner spots are interchangeable, which made this former third baseman confident he could move to first.
"I called coach Stone and said I hoped he needed a corner infielder," said Adamski, recalling his decision to transfer from Teikyo Post.
UMass (11-25, 9-12 Atlantic 10) has been disappointed with its record, but finds solace in the development of Adamski and the emergence of Franczek, two local players who took different paths to play close to home.
"We get along very well," Franczek said. "We're working at getting better. This is a good group of guys."
