Ravens rely on 'Grandfather'

By Gregg Lavoie, Sentinel Staff



RINDGE - It's Tuesday afternoon at Pappas Field, just two days before the Franklin Pierce baseball team opens up the NCAA Division II tournament by hosting the Northeast Regional, and the Ravens are warming up for practice.

But second baseman Jake Christman is nowhere to be found.

Instead, the 22-year old graduate student is back in his hometown of Newton, Mass., interviewing for a summer job at a sports camp.

That's not to say Christman isn't dedicated to his team - he showed up to the field early to take individual fielding and batting practice.

And when the Ravens open defense of their 2007 Northeast Regional title at 11 a.m. on Thursday against C.W. Post, it will mean a fresh start for the veteran Christman, who some teammates call "Grandfather."

Last season, the 5-foot-10 second baseman started all 60 games for FPU, hitting .337 with three home runs and 23 RBIs. The numbers earned him All-Northeast-10 Conference first-team honors.

This year, however, he has struggled at the plate.

"That's the way baseball is," Christman said. "It's so hard to hit, that's why nobody hits .500."

Christman has hit just .258 in Franklin Pierce's 51 games - including a brutal slump midway through the year.

"Any time there's a slump, it's not just physical," Ravens Coach Jayson King said. "There's always some mental aspect to it. He was unbelievable the first quarter of the season, but then he got into a slump and he stayed in it for a while."

The problems began for Christman on April 17 against American International when he went 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot. Over the next five games, he went 1-for-21, forcing King to drop him down to the No. 9 spot in the lineup.

"At first, coach moved me down in the order so I could see more fastballs," Christman said. "And (Kevin) Renaud started doing really well from the leadoff spot, so after a little while I stopped worrying about it."

For the first time in his career, Christman was mired in a hitting slump.

"It was weird," Christman said. "It wasn't like I didn't know how to handle it, but it was tough. If we won, I didn't mind too much, but when we lost, I was upset that I couldn't contribute."

Despite his troubles at the plate, Christman hasn't allowed his fielding to suffer.

"Even though he hasn't hit like he did last year, he's played unbelievable defense," King said. "He's done a lot of good things for us, he's just been real steady."

In fact, Christman's .978 fielding percentage ranks third among FPU starters, and his 127 assists are 11th in the NE-10 rankings.

"We always tease each other when we make an error," FPU junior shortstop Scott Savastano said, quickly noting that it's usually himself and not Christman that makes the mistake. "But we just have fun out there."

The smooth-fielding second baseman has committed just five errors this season.

Christman, who graduated from FPU with a bachelor's degree in sports and recreation management and is currently working on his Master's degree in business leadership, redshirted following his freshman year.

"He's our grandfather," Savastano said of the graduate student. "That's what we all call him. He's a kid that never takes a day off. He's struggled a little bit, but everybody struggles."

Christman is hoping that the arrival of the D-II tournament will mean a few more base hits and Raven wins. In six tournament games last year, he hit .333 (7-for-21) with two runs scored and two RBIs.

"This is basically what I've been waiting for all year," Christman said. "Playoffs are always the best time, and it's definitely a fresh start for me. I think we're going to do real well."