Written by Dave Dyer at the Eagle
Tribune in North Andover, Mass.
Maybe in the long run, Haverhill's Mike Crane's academic
troubles at Rollins College will turn out to be a blessing.
Forced to take last year to get his grades up after two fine
seasons with the Tars, the 22-year-old Crane took courses at nearby
Valencia Community College in Winter Park, Fla., improving his GPA
enough to return to Rollins and rejoin the baseball team.
"It was kind of tough being away from the team, but it's
something I had to do," said Crane, who was a two-time
Eagle-Tribune All-Star at Central Catholic. "I knew to play again
at Rollins, I had to do something. I wasn't working hard enough
before and I wasn't focused on what I had to do.
"I did play in a wooden bat men's league in the spring (last
year) and tried to stay in good shape but I wasn't sure how I'd do
this year. At the beginning of the fall, it was tough to get back
in the groove, but now I feel I'm there."
Indeed, as Rollins has gotten off to a 11-7 start, Crane is more
than in the groove. As the team's cleanup hitter, he's hitting a
team-leading .429 with two home runs, 18 RBIs, 20 runs scored, an
on-base percentage of .512 and a slugging percentage of .541. He's
also 4 for 5 in stolen base attempts.
A leftfielder/designated hitter, Crane - a former pitcher at
Central - also has 17 putouts and an assist and a perfect fielding
percentage.
"Mike didn't play for us last year, but it's not like he took
the year off," said second-year Rollins coach Jon Sjogren. "He
worked on the weights, he went to the (batting) cage and he took a
lot of swings. He's one of the main guys we're relying on at the
plate and he's done a nice job in the field."
Sjogren certainly knew of Crane's potential. Prior to taking
over at Rollins for Andover native Bob Rikeman, who moved on to
Newberry (S.C) College, he was a 15-year head coach at Bryant
College, and he tried to lure him there.
"I saw him play in high school and I was impressed," said
Sjogren. "He's a natural hitter and he has a feel for the
game."
Having a new coach take over in the middle of your college
career can be an adjustment, but it wasn't a problem for Crane.
"Things are a little different, but it's been a good
transition," said the psychology major, who was Sunshine State
Conference Player of the Week a few weeks ago. "He (Sjogren) is a
good guy and he helped me get back to Rollins."
For his part, Sjogren appreciates how easily Crane has
reacclimated himself.
"I haven't heard a player say a bad thing about him (Crane),"
said Sjogren. "The other players respond to him because of how hard
he works. He's been a great asset to the program.
"I also think he's turned it around in the classroom. He's doing
far better than he was before."
And, of course, he's also improved on the field from a level
that was already high. He hit a solid .325 as a freshman and
swatted .366 as a sophomore with 28 runs scored and 27 RBIs while
stealing eight bases in as many attempts.
Crane's fast start
Haverhill's Mike Crane is off to a torrid start for Rollins
College this spring. After 18 games:
Average: .429 (first on team)
Hits: 30 (first on team)
RBIs: 18 (first on team)
Total bases: 38 (first on team)
Runs scored: 20 (second on team)
On-base percentage: .512 (second on team)
Slugging percentage: .541
Stolen bases: 4 (second on team)
