Jake Fraley enjoying record breaking season for Perth Heat - (January 24, 2018)
WHEN Jake Fraley arrived on Australian shores ahead of the 2017/18 Australian Baseball League season, big things were expected of the 22-year-old outfielder.
A Louisiana State University graduate, Fraley was selected in the 2nd Round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays and is enjoying a breakout year for the Perth Heat, where he has broken the league stolen base record and the team’s single-season home run mark.
“It’s awesome to see all the hard work come together. It’s something I put a lot of time and effort into,” Fraley said.
With 36 stolen bases and 12 home runs, Fraley is the first player in ABL history to steal at least 30 bases and hit 10 homers in a season.
But the speedster says he doesn’t concentrate on individual stats and is focused on securing a home semi-final for the second-placed Heat.
“Once you get close to the playoffs, teams often try to do too much, whereas we need to make sure we just relax and play our game.”
The Heat round out the regular season at home to the Melbourne Aces this weekend – a series which will determine whether or not they host a semi-final next week.
Edward Nixon - Community Comment News
Fraley blasts Renegades to Game 1 win - (September 7, 2016)
Jake Fraley may not have hit many long balls during the regular season, but he found the perfect time for one on Wednesday night.
The Rays' 16th-ranked prospect hit a leadoff shot in the 11th inning as Hudson Valley outlasted Lowell, 6-5, in Game 1 of the best-of-3 New York-Penn League semifinals.
Fraley, who finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, helped the Renegades regain the lead when he sent the first pitch he saw from Dioscar Romero over the right field wall at Edward A. LeLacheur Park to open the 11th.
"He's been swinging the bat the second half of the year real good," Hudson Valley manager Tim Parenton said. "He has some power and got a chance to hit one out and got a pitch on the inner half and hit it a long way to take the lead for us.
"Everybody was jumping around. We don't have a lot home runs as a team -- we steal a lot of bases and we have a lot of triples, but we don't have a lot of home runs. We take the lead, 4-0, early, then they bounce back and take it away from us and then we tie it and then it's sort of a pitching duel for the end of it."
After starter Travis Ott gave up four runs -- two earned -- on six hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings, the Renegades got a stellar effort from their bullpen. J.D. Busfield (1-0) yielded a run on seven hits and a walk over 5 1/3 frames to get the win and Joe Serrapica walked one in a hitless 11th for the save.
"All of our pitchers, Ott, Busfield and Serrapica, they competed," Parenton said. "That's the only thing you can ask, throw the ball in there and see what happens. Those guys made the pitches when they had to. They had a chance to score some runs there late in the game and our pitchers made the play."
Miles Mastrobuoni went 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs for Hudson Valley, which returns home for Game 2 on Thursday.
"It's really good to get that first one under your belt," Parenton said. "They're a good team. We know them so well, we play them all the time. We talked about it yesterday -- it's just another game, we're going to play the same way we played all year. It's nice to go home with a win and, hopefully, our crowd will show up and support us like they did all year."
C.J. Chatham -- the No. 15 Red Sox prospect -- had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and scored a run for the Spinners.
Robert Emrich/MiLB.com
Jake Fraley may not have hit many long balls during the regular season, but he found the perfect time for one on Wednesday night.
The Rays' 16th-ranked prospect hit a leadoff shot in the 11th inning as Hudson Valley outlasted Lowell, 6-5, in Game 1 of the best-of-3 New York-Penn League semifinals.
Fraley, who finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, helped the Renegades regain the lead when he sent the first pitch he saw from Dioscar Romero over the right field wall at Edward A. LeLacheur Park to open the 11th.
"He's been swinging the bat the second half of the year real good," Hudson Valley manager Tim Parenton said. "He has some power and got a chance to hit one out and got a pitch on the inner half and hit it a long way to take the lead for us.
"Everybody was jumping around. We don't have a lot home runs as a team -- we steal a lot of bases and we have a lot of triples, but we don't have a lot of home runs. We take the lead, 4-0, early, then they bounce back and take it away from us and then we tie it and then it's sort of a pitching duel for the end of it."
After starter Travis Ott gave up four runs -- two earned -- on six hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings, the Renegades got a stellar effort from their bullpen. J.D. Busfield (1-0) yielded a run on seven hits and a walk over 5 1/3 frames to get the win and Joe Serrapica walked one in a hitless 11th for the save.
"All of our pitchers, Ott, Busfield and Serrapica, they competed," Parenton said. "That's the only thing you can ask, throw the ball in there and see what happens. Those guys made the pitches when they had to. They had a chance to score some runs there late in the game and our pitchers made the play."
Miles Mastrobuoni went 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs for Hudson Valley, which returns home for Game 2 on Thursday.
"It's really good to get that first one under your belt," Parenton said. "They're a good team. We know them so well, we play them all the time. We talked about it yesterday -- it's just another game, we're going to play the same way we played all year. It's nice to go home with a win and, hopefully, our crowd will show up and support us like they did all year."
C.J. Chatham -- the No. 15 Red Sox prospect -- had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and scored a run for the Spinners.
Robert Emrich/MiLB.com
LSU rolls up 31 hits, sweeps doubleheader against Princeton with 15-4 nightcap win
Jake Fraley slid into third base for what appeared to be a triple.
It was officially ruled as a triple.
Seconds later, Fraley raced across home plate, Alex Box Stadium erupted and LSU’s dugout exploded onto the field: inside the park home run. Well, kind of.
Fraley’s triple-turned-homer highlighted and exemplified the Tigers’ doubleheader sweep of Princeton on Saturday, a pair of wins that included a whopping 11 extra-base hits from LSU. continue reading
Written by Ross Dellenger
The Advocate
It was officially ruled as a triple.
Seconds later, Fraley raced across home plate, Alex Box Stadium erupted and LSU’s dugout exploded onto the field: inside the park home run. Well, kind of.
Fraley’s triple-turned-homer highlighted and exemplified the Tigers’ doubleheader sweep of Princeton on Saturday, a pair of wins that included a whopping 11 extra-base hits from LSU. continue reading
Written by Ross Dellenger
The Advocate
Behind another offensive outburst, from Jake Fraley, LSU beats Princeton 7-2 to secure series win
Fraley delivers game-winner as LSU holds off Southeastern
Jake Fraley bails LSU out with a two-run triple in a 9-8 win against Southeastern
(February 27, 2015) Ugly baseball? You bet. Finding a way, any way, to win removes some of that ugliness, though. No. 4-ranked LSU did a lot more things wrong than right Thursday night in a long, drawn-out affair on in frigid conditions at Alex Box Stadium. But Jake Fraley and Jesse Stallings erased most of that in the late innings. Battling senior Jared Foster for playing time in the outfield since the season began, Fraley rifled a two-run triple down the first-base line in the Tigers' 8th inning and Stallings got Southeastern Louisiana without allowing a run (with some dubious help from first-base umpire Kevin Kennedy) in the top of the 9th inning as LSU escaped with a weird 9-8 victory to launch a busy stretch at The Box.
"It wasn't a thing of beauty, but we found a way to win and that was great," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said after his club avoided a second consecutive mid-week loss to an in-state foe.
"It was a strange game because our pitchers struck out 13 batters, yet I didn't feel like we pitched particularly well. We really gave them five runs between the error in the 1st, walking in two runs and wild-pitching in two runs. We need to be better than that on the mound."
There were a lot of places where the Tigers left themselves room for improvement.
Struggles hitting in the clutch after a promising 3rd-inning explosion, a meltdown from the so-far reliable bullpen -- until Stallings -- and three errors were the main storylines as the Tigers (7-1) came up to bat in the 8th down by a run.
But Conner Hale provided a flicker of hope with a one-out single and the Lions (5-4) opened the door when shortstop Kennon Mennard booted a tailor-made double-play ball off the bat of Kade Scivicque.
After taking two pitches for balls, the left-handed hitting Fraley yanked the next offering from reliever Pat Cashman just inside the first-base bag. Hale scored the tying easily and Scivicque came chugging home and made it easily when right fielder Julian Service air-mailed a throw toward the middle of the infield.
Stallings made that stand up when he got the first two outs, one when Jacob Seward beat a slow roller to shortstop but was called out at first base by Kennedy, walked a batter and then walked off the field triumphant with his fourth save after Scivicque threw out pinch-runner Kyle Cedotal trying to advance to second base on a pitch in the dirt.
"Good teams find a way to win," said LSU second baseman Kramer Robertson, an earlier hero. "It was brutally cold, but bottom line we found a way to win. It counts the same if you win by one run or by 10."
One was all the Tigers needed, and it was Fraley who provided the difference.
Starting because starting center fielder Andrew Stevenson has been slowed by a sore hamstring and sat out, Fraley made the most of his latest chance.
The sophomore singled in the 2nd inning, setting up Robertson for a bases-loaded two-out walk. In the 5th inning, Fraley hustled out a double after Scivicque walked to set the stage for a rally that fizzled.
And then in the best-for-last department the Delaware native supplied the biggest hit of the night for an offense that whacked Lions' pitchers for 13 hits but produced just one hit -- Fraley's -- in the final 10 at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
"I show up to the field every day and see what Coach Mainieri wants me to do and just try to do my best," said Fraley, now 6-for-16 (.375) this season.
"I felt very comfortable at the plate. We had a game plan coming in. (Hitting coach Andy Cannizaro) told us that Southeastern likes to pitch off the fastball and come in on lefties, so I knew they were going to try and do that. When I got two strikes, I was looking for fastballs in and on that last at-bat, I was looking for fastball in and got a lot of barrel on it."
That Fraley came through isn't foreign to him or Mainieri. continue reading
Written by Randy Rosetta
NOLA.com
"It wasn't a thing of beauty, but we found a way to win and that was great," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said after his club avoided a second consecutive mid-week loss to an in-state foe.
"It was a strange game because our pitchers struck out 13 batters, yet I didn't feel like we pitched particularly well. We really gave them five runs between the error in the 1st, walking in two runs and wild-pitching in two runs. We need to be better than that on the mound."
There were a lot of places where the Tigers left themselves room for improvement.
Struggles hitting in the clutch after a promising 3rd-inning explosion, a meltdown from the so-far reliable bullpen -- until Stallings -- and three errors were the main storylines as the Tigers (7-1) came up to bat in the 8th down by a run.
But Conner Hale provided a flicker of hope with a one-out single and the Lions (5-4) opened the door when shortstop Kennon Mennard booted a tailor-made double-play ball off the bat of Kade Scivicque.
After taking two pitches for balls, the left-handed hitting Fraley yanked the next offering from reliever Pat Cashman just inside the first-base bag. Hale scored the tying easily and Scivicque came chugging home and made it easily when right fielder Julian Service air-mailed a throw toward the middle of the infield.
Stallings made that stand up when he got the first two outs, one when Jacob Seward beat a slow roller to shortstop but was called out at first base by Kennedy, walked a batter and then walked off the field triumphant with his fourth save after Scivicque threw out pinch-runner Kyle Cedotal trying to advance to second base on a pitch in the dirt.
"Good teams find a way to win," said LSU second baseman Kramer Robertson, an earlier hero. "It was brutally cold, but bottom line we found a way to win. It counts the same if you win by one run or by 10."
One was all the Tigers needed, and it was Fraley who provided the difference.
Starting because starting center fielder Andrew Stevenson has been slowed by a sore hamstring and sat out, Fraley made the most of his latest chance.
The sophomore singled in the 2nd inning, setting up Robertson for a bases-loaded two-out walk. In the 5th inning, Fraley hustled out a double after Scivicque walked to set the stage for a rally that fizzled.
And then in the best-for-last department the Delaware native supplied the biggest hit of the night for an offense that whacked Lions' pitchers for 13 hits but produced just one hit -- Fraley's -- in the final 10 at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
"I show up to the field every day and see what Coach Mainieri wants me to do and just try to do my best," said Fraley, now 6-for-16 (.375) this season.
"I felt very comfortable at the plate. We had a game plan coming in. (Hitting coach Andy Cannizaro) told us that Southeastern likes to pitch off the fastball and come in on lefties, so I knew they were going to try and do that. When I got two strikes, I was looking for fastballs in and on that last at-bat, I was looking for fastball in and got a lot of barrel on it."
That Fraley came through isn't foreign to him or Mainieri. continue reading
Written by Randy Rosetta
NOLA.com
A year later, LSU's Jake Fraley doesn't have to worry about wrestling with confidence
(October 10, 2014) - A year ago at this point, LSU outfielder Jake Fraley was a mess. He doesn't mind saying so.
Fresh to campus from Delaware, the unquestionably talented freshman couldn't get much to go right. He was homesick, the challenge of being a college student was daunting and perhaps worse than everything else, Fraley couldn't get out of his own way on the diamond.
And that was something he had never struggled with before.
Things have things pretty dramatically for Fraley since then.
Some intensive work with former Tigers' hitting coach Javi Sanchez and a much-needed stint back home over Christmas combined to recharge Fraley's batteries, and he came back in January with a sense of renewal.
Coming off a debut season when he led the Tigers in hitting in SEC games (.350 in 60 at-bats), Fraley isn't wrestling with confidence issues anymore as fall practice gets rolling.
"It's a great feeling to be back out there - definitely a diff mindset this year," said Fraley, who finished his first college season hitting .372 (highest among the regulars) with 31 runs scored, 7 doubles, 3 home runs, 29 RBIs and 8 steals.
"Coming in as a freshman you're trying to make your name and it's tough. Now I know how things work and I can relax a little bit. I'm not being too laid back because I still have to win a spot in left field, but there won't be any surprises."
Especially not after a busy summer in the Cape Cod League.
Fraley was one of a handful of college freshmen who played in the elite college summer league and he had some big moments, but also struggled to be consistent. He finished strongly -- hitting .400 (12 of 30) over the last nine games -- and wound up batting .265 for the Chatham A's in 29 games and 98 at-bats.
Even though the numbers weren't huge, Fraley knew night in and night out that he was going to take his hacks against some of the best pitchers in the country.
"I keep going back to the experience I got playing in Cape Cod this summer," Fraley said. "Every pitcher I faced was the best guy on their college team. I already had a season at LSU under my belt, but the summer was huge for me and I have confidence now to come back and swing the bat better."
That is something the LSU coaches are banking on as well.
Paul Mainieri said Fraley carries himself differently now, saying "he looks like a well-rounded veteran now. He has that kind of presence."
"Jake is another example of how guys benefit from playing summer ball at such a high level," Mainieri said. "He got an injection of experience in the Cape, and that elevated his confidence."
Not that Fraley is anywhere close to content.
Like he said, he approaches this fall and pre-season practice in January as if he has to win a starting job, although it's hard to fathom him not being in left field as part of an outfield Mainieri says will be one of the best defensively in the country, along with center fielder Andrew Stevenson and right fielder Mark Laird.
And offensively, Fraley intends to use what he learned this summer and approach each at-bat with a little more scrutiny than he has in the past.
"I want to have a much better approach at the plate," he said. "What I learned this summer is that it's all about making adjustments. Playing in the SEC is a lot more like pro ball -- you have earn from the mistakes you make against a pitcher or the way a team is pitching to you and find a way to beat them.
"In the outfield, even though I do have some experience under my belt, there's still so much for me to learn. I know what (Stevenson's and Laird's) expectations are, and I'm working even harder to try to get faster and get some better jumps because I know they aren't going to let anything fall between them."
For added incentive, Fraley also knows there are two seniors who will push him to tighten his grip on a starting job.
Chris Sciambra and Jared Foster are both back for their final season, both as former starters and both quite capable of stepping in as the left fielder if Fraley scuffles. Foster was the starter there when last season began, but a miserable start in the batter's box never got better and he lost the job to Fraley.
"Foster and Sciambra have both been here a lot longer than I have, so to have them around is huge for me," Fraley said. "But I also know they want to play, so I have to keep producing and show I deserve to be out there."
Part of that dynamic is Fraley showing he can stay healthy as well.
He struggled with a wrist issue as a freshman and has been limited in fall work with a creaky hamstring. Fraley was also sporting a bandage on his hand earlier this week as a result of being plunked by a Jared Poche pitch.
Mainieri said it's always a concern when a potential star player grapples with a body that doesn't always make it possible to stay in the lineup.
"Jake is an every-day player in my opinion and it doesn't matter if he's facing a right-handed pitcher of left-hander because he showed me last year he could swing the bat well no matter who was on the mound," Mainieri said.
"He brings enough to the table to be out there every day, so I hope he can stay healthy and give me the confidence to put him out there."
High on the list of what Fraley brings is a different level of conviction than he operated with last fall.
"I know I belong here now," he said. "Now it's just a matter of staying healthy and relying on my confidence."
Written by Randy Rosetta
NOLA.com
Fresh to campus from Delaware, the unquestionably talented freshman couldn't get much to go right. He was homesick, the challenge of being a college student was daunting and perhaps worse than everything else, Fraley couldn't get out of his own way on the diamond.
And that was something he had never struggled with before.
Things have things pretty dramatically for Fraley since then.
Some intensive work with former Tigers' hitting coach Javi Sanchez and a much-needed stint back home over Christmas combined to recharge Fraley's batteries, and he came back in January with a sense of renewal.
Coming off a debut season when he led the Tigers in hitting in SEC games (.350 in 60 at-bats), Fraley isn't wrestling with confidence issues anymore as fall practice gets rolling.
"It's a great feeling to be back out there - definitely a diff mindset this year," said Fraley, who finished his first college season hitting .372 (highest among the regulars) with 31 runs scored, 7 doubles, 3 home runs, 29 RBIs and 8 steals.
"Coming in as a freshman you're trying to make your name and it's tough. Now I know how things work and I can relax a little bit. I'm not being too laid back because I still have to win a spot in left field, but there won't be any surprises."
Especially not after a busy summer in the Cape Cod League.
Fraley was one of a handful of college freshmen who played in the elite college summer league and he had some big moments, but also struggled to be consistent. He finished strongly -- hitting .400 (12 of 30) over the last nine games -- and wound up batting .265 for the Chatham A's in 29 games and 98 at-bats.
Even though the numbers weren't huge, Fraley knew night in and night out that he was going to take his hacks against some of the best pitchers in the country.
"I keep going back to the experience I got playing in Cape Cod this summer," Fraley said. "Every pitcher I faced was the best guy on their college team. I already had a season at LSU under my belt, but the summer was huge for me and I have confidence now to come back and swing the bat better."
That is something the LSU coaches are banking on as well.
Paul Mainieri said Fraley carries himself differently now, saying "he looks like a well-rounded veteran now. He has that kind of presence."
"Jake is another example of how guys benefit from playing summer ball at such a high level," Mainieri said. "He got an injection of experience in the Cape, and that elevated his confidence."
Not that Fraley is anywhere close to content.
Like he said, he approaches this fall and pre-season practice in January as if he has to win a starting job, although it's hard to fathom him not being in left field as part of an outfield Mainieri says will be one of the best defensively in the country, along with center fielder Andrew Stevenson and right fielder Mark Laird.
And offensively, Fraley intends to use what he learned this summer and approach each at-bat with a little more scrutiny than he has in the past.
"I want to have a much better approach at the plate," he said. "What I learned this summer is that it's all about making adjustments. Playing in the SEC is a lot more like pro ball -- you have earn from the mistakes you make against a pitcher or the way a team is pitching to you and find a way to beat them.
"In the outfield, even though I do have some experience under my belt, there's still so much for me to learn. I know what (Stevenson's and Laird's) expectations are, and I'm working even harder to try to get faster and get some better jumps because I know they aren't going to let anything fall between them."
For added incentive, Fraley also knows there are two seniors who will push him to tighten his grip on a starting job.
Chris Sciambra and Jared Foster are both back for their final season, both as former starters and both quite capable of stepping in as the left fielder if Fraley scuffles. Foster was the starter there when last season began, but a miserable start in the batter's box never got better and he lost the job to Fraley.
"Foster and Sciambra have both been here a lot longer than I have, so to have them around is huge for me," Fraley said. "But I also know they want to play, so I have to keep producing and show I deserve to be out there."
Part of that dynamic is Fraley showing he can stay healthy as well.
He struggled with a wrist issue as a freshman and has been limited in fall work with a creaky hamstring. Fraley was also sporting a bandage on his hand earlier this week as a result of being plunked by a Jared Poche pitch.
Mainieri said it's always a concern when a potential star player grapples with a body that doesn't always make it possible to stay in the lineup.
"Jake is an every-day player in my opinion and it doesn't matter if he's facing a right-handed pitcher of left-hander because he showed me last year he could swing the bat well no matter who was on the mound," Mainieri said.
"He brings enough to the table to be out there every day, so I hope he can stay healthy and give me the confidence to put him out there."
High on the list of what Fraley brings is a different level of conviction than he operated with last fall.
"I know I belong here now," he said. "Now it's just a matter of staying healthy and relying on my confidence."
Written by Randy Rosetta
NOLA.com
Fraley, Cray inject life into Chatham lineup heading into Yarmouth-Dennis game
(June 18, 2014) If only to matchup with
Brewster starter Cody Ponce, John Schiffner shook up his lineup Tuesday and it
worked. He put Ty Moore (UCLA) in the two-hole, hit Garrett Hampson (Long Beach
State) eighth and plugged Jake Fraley (LSU) and Landon Cray (Seattle) in the
five and nine spots, respectively.
The latter additions of Fraley and Cray, who each made their first appearances with the Anglers in the game, were at the epicenter of an offensive effort that included six runs and 10 hits — the most Chatham in the young season.
“Those guys were good,” Schiffner said. “It was good to get them in.”
Fraley started as the designated hitter and Cray in center field, and their combined production helped Chatham (2-4) to a 6-2 win that snapped a four-game skid. The Anglers will travel to Red Wilson Field to face Yarmouth-Dennis (2-4) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and two of the team’s newest faces will look to piggyback on their impressive debuts. Whether Schiffner decides to roll out Fraley and Cray for the second straight game will depend on his shuffling lineup card, and two definitive skill sets will be at his expense either way.
Hitting behind Chris Saw (Boston College) and A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech), Fraley showed the ability to drive the ball the other way and hit confidently in deep counts. Cray, whose speed is only masked by his off-field saunter, provided the Anglers with an assuring glove in center field and creative plate approach.
“We didn’t play in the losing streak but we wanted to help the team get out of it just as much,” Cray said after Chatham’s win over Brewster. “And I’m glad we could.”
Cray had a great spring with Seattle and earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors at season’s end. The 5-foot-9-inch, 165-pound outfielder hit .350 with 30 walks and six stolen bases, and added eight doubles, 26 runs, 22 RBIs and even two home runs to his final line. He showed off his ability to get on base and create scoring opportunities Tuesday, and also his ability to play a highly competent center field.
After Nick Collins (Georgetown) broke the game open with a single that scored three runs in the third, Cray extended the inning with a perfectly executed hit and run. Hampson was going on the pitch and Cray’s slap hit was gloved by Whitecaps’ shortstop Travis Maezes, but he had no chance to get the speedy Cray at first.
“That’s a center fielder for you,” Schiffner said. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for, a quick guy to play center and get on base.”
Before the game, Schiffner called Fraley a five-tool player who he expects to excel at the plate and in the field this summer. He didn’t get a chance to take the field as he was the designated hitter against Brewster, but took the opportunity to build on the impressive freshman campaign that he had with LSU. Fraley hit .372 while starting in 27 games for the Tigers, also collecting 45 hits, seven doubles, three home runs and 29 RBIs.
The left-handed Fraley had two hits against the Whitecaps — one to left and the other right — also reached by way of walk and fielder’s choice. He served as a viable bridge from the table-setting top of the order to the bottom third, which grabbed all four of the team’s RBIs.
Together, Fraley and Cray combined to go 4-for-7 with an RBI and run scored, a two-player implementation that proved antidotal for the Anglers.
"I felt good just starting out,” Fraley said. “I’ll do my best to get on base and get hits whenever I’m put out there.”
Written by Jesse Dougherty
The latter additions of Fraley and Cray, who each made their first appearances with the Anglers in the game, were at the epicenter of an offensive effort that included six runs and 10 hits — the most Chatham in the young season.
“Those guys were good,” Schiffner said. “It was good to get them in.”
Fraley started as the designated hitter and Cray in center field, and their combined production helped Chatham (2-4) to a 6-2 win that snapped a four-game skid. The Anglers will travel to Red Wilson Field to face Yarmouth-Dennis (2-4) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and two of the team’s newest faces will look to piggyback on their impressive debuts. Whether Schiffner decides to roll out Fraley and Cray for the second straight game will depend on his shuffling lineup card, and two definitive skill sets will be at his expense either way.
Hitting behind Chris Saw (Boston College) and A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech), Fraley showed the ability to drive the ball the other way and hit confidently in deep counts. Cray, whose speed is only masked by his off-field saunter, provided the Anglers with an assuring glove in center field and creative plate approach.
“We didn’t play in the losing streak but we wanted to help the team get out of it just as much,” Cray said after Chatham’s win over Brewster. “And I’m glad we could.”
Cray had a great spring with Seattle and earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors at season’s end. The 5-foot-9-inch, 165-pound outfielder hit .350 with 30 walks and six stolen bases, and added eight doubles, 26 runs, 22 RBIs and even two home runs to his final line. He showed off his ability to get on base and create scoring opportunities Tuesday, and also his ability to play a highly competent center field.
After Nick Collins (Georgetown) broke the game open with a single that scored three runs in the third, Cray extended the inning with a perfectly executed hit and run. Hampson was going on the pitch and Cray’s slap hit was gloved by Whitecaps’ shortstop Travis Maezes, but he had no chance to get the speedy Cray at first.
“That’s a center fielder for you,” Schiffner said. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for, a quick guy to play center and get on base.”
Before the game, Schiffner called Fraley a five-tool player who he expects to excel at the plate and in the field this summer. He didn’t get a chance to take the field as he was the designated hitter against Brewster, but took the opportunity to build on the impressive freshman campaign that he had with LSU. Fraley hit .372 while starting in 27 games for the Tigers, also collecting 45 hits, seven doubles, three home runs and 29 RBIs.
The left-handed Fraley had two hits against the Whitecaps — one to left and the other right — also reached by way of walk and fielder’s choice. He served as a viable bridge from the table-setting top of the order to the bottom third, which grabbed all four of the team’s RBIs.
Together, Fraley and Cray combined to go 4-for-7 with an RBI and run scored, a two-player implementation that proved antidotal for the Anglers.
"I felt good just starting out,” Fraley said. “I’ll do my best to get on base and get hits whenever I’m put out there.”
Written by Jesse Dougherty
Fraley, Poche' Earn Freshman All-America Honors
(June 9, 2014) BATON ROUGE, La -- LSU left-handed pitcher Jared Poche' and outfielder Jake Fraley were named Monday as 2014 second-team Freshmen all-Americans by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Poche’, a native of Lutcher, La., was 9-3 this season with a 2.45 ERA in 16 starts, and he recorded 26 walks and 52 strikeouts in 91.2 innings.
He was named to SEC All-Tournament team after defeating Vanderbilt on May 21, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings with one walk and three strikeouts.
Poche’ defeated Miss. State on April 5, limiting the Bulldogs to one unearned run on three hits in six innings with two walks and six strikeouts, as he fired a season-high 108 pitches in the outing.
He recorded his first career SEC victory on March 22 with an exceptional performance against Georgia, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Poche’ worked 8.2 innings, limiting UGA to one run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Fraley, a product of Middletown, Del., batted .372 (45-for-121) this season with seven doubles, one triple, three homers, 31 runs, eight steals and 29 RBI. He enjoyed a torrid stretch at the end of the season, batting .476 (20-for-42) over the Tigers’ final 12 games with one double, one homer, eight runs, five steals and five RBI.
Fraley helped lead LSU to the SEC Tournament title, batting a team-high .500 (5-for-10) with three runs, two RBI and two steals. He was also the Tigers’ leading hitter in SEC regular-season games, batting .350 (21-for-60) with four doubles, 13 runs, three steals and nine RBI.
LSU has produced nine Freshmen All-Americans in coach Paul Mainieri’s eight-season tenure, including Poche’, Fraley, shortstop Alex Bregman (2013), pitcher Aaron Nola (2012), second baseman JaCoby Jones (2011), pitcher Curt McCune (2011), pitcher Matty Ott (2009), catcher Micah Gibbs (2008) and outfielder Blake Dean (2007).
(June 9, 2014) BATON ROUGE, La -- LSU left-handed pitcher Jared Poche' and outfielder Jake Fraley were named Monday as 2014 second-team Freshmen all-Americans by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Poche’, a native of Lutcher, La., was 9-3 this season with a 2.45 ERA in 16 starts, and he recorded 26 walks and 52 strikeouts in 91.2 innings.
He was named to SEC All-Tournament team after defeating Vanderbilt on May 21, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings with one walk and three strikeouts.
Poche’ defeated Miss. State on April 5, limiting the Bulldogs to one unearned run on three hits in six innings with two walks and six strikeouts, as he fired a season-high 108 pitches in the outing.
He recorded his first career SEC victory on March 22 with an exceptional performance against Georgia, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Poche’ worked 8.2 innings, limiting UGA to one run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Fraley, a product of Middletown, Del., batted .372 (45-for-121) this season with seven doubles, one triple, three homers, 31 runs, eight steals and 29 RBI. He enjoyed a torrid stretch at the end of the season, batting .476 (20-for-42) over the Tigers’ final 12 games with one double, one homer, eight runs, five steals and five RBI.
Fraley helped lead LSU to the SEC Tournament title, batting a team-high .500 (5-for-10) with three runs, two RBI and two steals. He was also the Tigers’ leading hitter in SEC regular-season games, batting .350 (21-for-60) with four doubles, 13 runs, three steals and nine RBI.
LSU has produced nine Freshmen All-Americans in coach Paul Mainieri’s eight-season tenure, including Poche’, Fraley, shortstop Alex Bregman (2013), pitcher Aaron Nola (2012), second baseman JaCoby Jones (2011), pitcher Curt McCune (2011), pitcher Matty Ott (2009), catcher Micah Gibbs (2008) and outfielder Blake Dean (2007).
Jake Fraley is Finding His Form
(April 30, 2014) BATON ROUGE, La -- Throughout his eight-year tenure as the head baseball coach at LSU, Paul Mainieri has taken the Tigers to the College World Series on three occasions. A theme from all three of those runs to Omaha, Neb. has been the impact provided by a freshman outfielder.In 2008, it was Leon Landry and his acrobatic leaping and diving catches that helped end a four-year CWS drought. A year later, Mikie Mahtook’s clutch bat and fiery mentality brought home LSU’s sixth national championship. And just last season, Andrew Stevenson and Mark Laird made it nearly impossible for any opposing team to hit a fly ball to right or center field and expect it to drop for a hit.
Only time – and a successful postseason run – will tell if the next addition to that fraternity will be LSU freshman left fielder Jake Fraley.
“It’s a bit early to start trying to compare him to those other guys,” said Mainieri.
But with each passing game and each LSU win that has been influenced by Fraley’s play in some way, it is getting harder and harder for his head coach to contain some enthusiasm.
“It’s been pretty exciting watching him grow,” Mainieri said of Fraley. “He’s a good ballplayer that kid, and he just keeps getting better.”
Fraley added to what has been a rapidly growing list of clutch hits Last Friday during the Tigers series opener with Tennessee. Trailing 7-6 with two outs and Sean McMullen on second base in the eighth inning, the young freshman jumped on a fastball from Volunteer reliever Josh Peterson and belted it into the left centerfield gap for a game-tying RBI double.
“It was just a matter of staying mentally strong and knowing your role in that situation,” explained Fraley who went 3-for-5 that night with an RBI and two runs scored. “He gave me a fastball and he left it so I was able to get the barrel on it and shoot it left centerfield.”
Fraley’s heroics paved way for a Laird walk-off single an inning later which set the tone for the weekend as the Tigers took two of three from Tennessee and moved to just a half game back of Ole Miss and Alabama for the SEC Western Division lead.
That is prime position for the Tigers, who found themselves at the bottom of the West just a month ago following a sweep at the hands of Florida. Considering that it was immediately after that series when Fraley started getting much more playing time, it might be no coincidence that LSU has won nine of its last 12 SEC games.
“He has the most confidence out of anybody on our team and he is a competitor,” said Laird. “Seeing how he keeps coming through for us in clutch situations, he just continues to amaze everyone when he is at the plate.”
In 14 conference games and seven starts this season, Fraley leads all LSU players that have registered more than 30 at bats with a .333 average and is second to only Andrew Stevenson with 8 RBI.
However, he is making sure to not let this recent string of success go to his head.
“The game of baseball,” he explained, “is going to come back and bite you in the butt if you don’t stay humble.”
The thing is, before this season even started, Fraley had already been served a large slice of humble pie.
Coming down to Louisiana all the way form Middletown, Delware where, at Caravel Academy, he had a junior season where he hit for a .536 average, which earned him All-State and All-American honors. Recruited by hitting coach Javi Sanchez since 2011, Fraley committed to LSU as part of its 2013 recruiting class and joined the team for fall practices last September.
Brimming with confidence, Fraley’s plan was to compete for a starting job in the outfield right away. However, as he does before the start of every fall practice, Mainieri gathered the freshmen and warned them that they will face many ups and downs.
For Fraley those downs came during the early part of the fall scrimmages when he realized first hand just how hard it is to make contact on a pitch thrown by Aaron Nola and the rest of the LSU pitchers.
“Everyone of us had the mindset of coming in and having a great fall and get on that opening day lineup card,” Fraley recalled. “But once you go about halfway through the fall and have played 15 or 16 games in the matter of two and a half weeks, you begin to realize what it takes to play here.”
Those struggles quickly had him questioning his talent and worth as a baseball player.
“I started second guessing myself,” he explained. “I wondered if I was really supposed to be here or if I could handle it.”
At that point, it could have been very easily for Fraley to get lost in the shuffle considering LSU was already loaded with outfield depth. After working on his game back home in Middletown during the winter break, Fraley reported back to LSU for the preseason practices.
Mainieri quickly noticed a difference from the player he saw three months prior.
“He showed great composure at the plate,” said Mainieri. “He didn’t seem to get rattled and it just didn’t seem like any situation was too big for him.”
Fraley attributes the difference to just slowing the game down and its something that he has made sure to do in each game he has played in sense.
“In high school, you didn’t really have to slow the game,” explained Fraley. “But, in college, it’s the single most important thing that you have to. Playing as a freshman, you can easily let everything fly by and not have the right mindset.”
Now seemingly firmly entrenched in the starting lineup, Fraley has his focuses set on finishing out this last month of the regular season strong. The Tigers travel to Texas A&M this weekend for a three game set with the Aggies before coming back to Baton Rouge to host Alabama in a series that may ultimately decide the SEC West.
If the Tigers want to capture their third straight division crown, as well as make some noise in the postseason, the chances are that they will need Fraley to come through in more big moments.
The good news is that he continues to be ready.
“Whenever I get the chance, I’m going to give it a hundred and ten percent,” said Fraley. “At this point, I just feel blessed that I have been able to go out there and play as much as I have.”
Written by Trey Mongrue
DIGBR
Only time – and a successful postseason run – will tell if the next addition to that fraternity will be LSU freshman left fielder Jake Fraley.
“It’s a bit early to start trying to compare him to those other guys,” said Mainieri.
But with each passing game and each LSU win that has been influenced by Fraley’s play in some way, it is getting harder and harder for his head coach to contain some enthusiasm.
“It’s been pretty exciting watching him grow,” Mainieri said of Fraley. “He’s a good ballplayer that kid, and he just keeps getting better.”
Fraley added to what has been a rapidly growing list of clutch hits Last Friday during the Tigers series opener with Tennessee. Trailing 7-6 with two outs and Sean McMullen on second base in the eighth inning, the young freshman jumped on a fastball from Volunteer reliever Josh Peterson and belted it into the left centerfield gap for a game-tying RBI double.
“It was just a matter of staying mentally strong and knowing your role in that situation,” explained Fraley who went 3-for-5 that night with an RBI and two runs scored. “He gave me a fastball and he left it so I was able to get the barrel on it and shoot it left centerfield.”
Fraley’s heroics paved way for a Laird walk-off single an inning later which set the tone for the weekend as the Tigers took two of three from Tennessee and moved to just a half game back of Ole Miss and Alabama for the SEC Western Division lead.
That is prime position for the Tigers, who found themselves at the bottom of the West just a month ago following a sweep at the hands of Florida. Considering that it was immediately after that series when Fraley started getting much more playing time, it might be no coincidence that LSU has won nine of its last 12 SEC games.
“He has the most confidence out of anybody on our team and he is a competitor,” said Laird. “Seeing how he keeps coming through for us in clutch situations, he just continues to amaze everyone when he is at the plate.”
In 14 conference games and seven starts this season, Fraley leads all LSU players that have registered more than 30 at bats with a .333 average and is second to only Andrew Stevenson with 8 RBI.
However, he is making sure to not let this recent string of success go to his head.
“The game of baseball,” he explained, “is going to come back and bite you in the butt if you don’t stay humble.”
The thing is, before this season even started, Fraley had already been served a large slice of humble pie.
Coming down to Louisiana all the way form Middletown, Delware where, at Caravel Academy, he had a junior season where he hit for a .536 average, which earned him All-State and All-American honors. Recruited by hitting coach Javi Sanchez since 2011, Fraley committed to LSU as part of its 2013 recruiting class and joined the team for fall practices last September.
Brimming with confidence, Fraley’s plan was to compete for a starting job in the outfield right away. However, as he does before the start of every fall practice, Mainieri gathered the freshmen and warned them that they will face many ups and downs.
For Fraley those downs came during the early part of the fall scrimmages when he realized first hand just how hard it is to make contact on a pitch thrown by Aaron Nola and the rest of the LSU pitchers.
“Everyone of us had the mindset of coming in and having a great fall and get on that opening day lineup card,” Fraley recalled. “But once you go about halfway through the fall and have played 15 or 16 games in the matter of two and a half weeks, you begin to realize what it takes to play here.”
Those struggles quickly had him questioning his talent and worth as a baseball player.
“I started second guessing myself,” he explained. “I wondered if I was really supposed to be here or if I could handle it.”
At that point, it could have been very easily for Fraley to get lost in the shuffle considering LSU was already loaded with outfield depth. After working on his game back home in Middletown during the winter break, Fraley reported back to LSU for the preseason practices.
Mainieri quickly noticed a difference from the player he saw three months prior.
“He showed great composure at the plate,” said Mainieri. “He didn’t seem to get rattled and it just didn’t seem like any situation was too big for him.”
Fraley attributes the difference to just slowing the game down and its something that he has made sure to do in each game he has played in sense.
“In high school, you didn’t really have to slow the game,” explained Fraley. “But, in college, it’s the single most important thing that you have to. Playing as a freshman, you can easily let everything fly by and not have the right mindset.”
Now seemingly firmly entrenched in the starting lineup, Fraley has his focuses set on finishing out this last month of the regular season strong. The Tigers travel to Texas A&M this weekend for a three game set with the Aggies before coming back to Baton Rouge to host Alabama in a series that may ultimately decide the SEC West.
If the Tigers want to capture their third straight division crown, as well as make some noise in the postseason, the chances are that they will need Fraley to come through in more big moments.
The good news is that he continues to be ready.
“Whenever I get the chance, I’m going to give it a hundred and ten percent,” said Fraley. “At this point, I just feel blessed that I have been able to go out there and play as much as I have.”
Written by Trey Mongrue
DIGBR
Fraley named SEC Freshman of the Week
(April 29, 2014) BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU outfielder Jake Fraley was named Tuesday as the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week by the league office.Fraley, a product of Middletown, Del., hit .533 (8-for-15) in the Tigers’ four games last week with two doubles, six RBI, three runs, one stolen base and a .529 on base-percentage. In LSU’s SEC series victory over Tennessee, Fraley batted .455 (5-for-11) with two doubles, three RBI, three runs, one steal and a .462 on-base percentage.
Fraley, who is riding a five-game hitting streak, tied a career-high with three hits on Friday night against the Vols, scoring two runs and driving in one. On Sunday, Fraley led off the eighth inning with the score tied 4-4 and drew a walk, later scoring the eventual winning run all the way from first base on second baseman Connor Hale's double.
Fraley is hitting .338 on the year with five doubles, one triple, one homer and 21 RBI. In SEC games, he is batting .333 with three doubles, eight RBI and nine runs scored.
Written by Bill Franques, Sr.
LSUsports.net
Fraley, who is riding a five-game hitting streak, tied a career-high with three hits on Friday night against the Vols, scoring two runs and driving in one. On Sunday, Fraley led off the eighth inning with the score tied 4-4 and drew a walk, later scoring the eventual winning run all the way from first base on second baseman Connor Hale's double.
Fraley is hitting .338 on the year with five doubles, one triple, one homer and 21 RBI. In SEC games, he is batting .333 with three doubles, eight RBI and nine runs scored.
Written by Bill Franques, Sr.
LSUsports.net
LSU beats Tulane behind Jake Fraley's three-hit outing
(April 22, 2004) - For a while, it appeared that Jake Fraley had again lost his hitting touch.
LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri knew that wasn’t true even before Tuesday’s game started.
“I pitched BP to him today pregame,” Mainieri said. “He was locked in.”
Fraley had a career-high three hits — his first multiple hit game in nearly a month — and drove in a career-best three runs in LSU’s 6-0 win over Tulane on Tuesday night at Alex Box Stadium.
Fraley, a freshman who struggled with a nasty slump in the fall season, had singles on his first three at-bats, helping stop a skid. He had four hits in his past 27 at-bats entering Tuesday’s game, a streak that dates to LSU’s series loss at Florida.
Starter Kyle Bouman allowed three hits through 4.2 innings in his first outing in more than a week, and relievers Zac Person and Brady Domangue helped their predecessors work out of some sticky jams.
LSU (31-10-1) avenged a 3-2 loss last month to the Green Wave (15-23), and Bouman bounced back from his last outing. He allowed a first-inning grand slam to Arkansas in that series finale a week and a half ago.
He needed some help from Person in this one. Person entered for Bouman in the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs. He retired Jake Rogers to end the inning.
Person (2-1) got the win in front of 5,731.
The Tigers got some redemption for an 11-inning loss at Tulane on March 25.
They dinged up Tulane starter Tyler Mapes, the Green Wave’s No. 1 pitcher, for 12 hits, the most he’s given up this season.
“I thought this was maybe our best offensive performance of the year,” Mainieri said, “when you consider the quality of the starting pitcher we went up against and the quality of the at-bats.”
Batting in the No. 5 hole, Alex Bregman had a pair of hits, and Andrew Stevenson and Mark Laird each had an RBI as LSU re-arranged its batting order again.
The Tigers used a third different three-hole hitter for a third straight game. Conner Hale stuck out twice and drew a walk batting third.
Fraley, batting sixth, went 3-for-4 in the Tigers’ 11th win in 13 games, a run that’s vaulted LSU into the Top 10 in all of the major polls.
Fraley’s third-inning pop through the right side of the infield drove in two runs to give LSU an early 3-0 lead. The hit came with two outs and the bases loaded. Tulane walked Bregman to bring up Fraley.
“They kind of pitched around Breg to get to me,” Fraley said. “In my mind, I kind of pissed myself off to get up there. Was looking for a fastball, and he gave it to me.”
The Delaware native had slipped into somewhat of a hitting funk since Mainieri elevated him nearly a month ago into the team’s 10-11 rotation of starting position players.
Fraley entered fall practice having the best chance of any freshman to earn a starting gig, Mainieri had thought. He struggled at the plate during the fall, though, before finding his swing again over Christmas break.
There was no struggle on Tuesday. Fraley even had a diving catch in the fourth inning on a line drive, stealing a hit from Andrew Garner.
“I honestly believe we’re watching the evolution of, maybe, the next great LSU baseball player,” Mainieri said.
Bouman faced the minimum in the first, third and fourth innings. He walked two and hit a batter. Mainieri called his performance “OK,” and was non-committal on the junior college transfer working back into the starting weekend rotation.
Person had some two-out trouble in the sixth.
He issued a two-out walk, then Lex Kaplan’s hard single bounced off third baseman Christian Ibarra. Domangue struck out Barry Buchowski to strand the pair of runners. But Fraley was the star of this one. Afterward, he was signing T-shirt for kids.
“He’s been a sparkplug for us,” Bregman said. “He works really hard. He deserves everything he gets.”
Written by Ross Dellenger
The Advocate
LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri knew that wasn’t true even before Tuesday’s game started.
“I pitched BP to him today pregame,” Mainieri said. “He was locked in.”
Fraley had a career-high three hits — his first multiple hit game in nearly a month — and drove in a career-best three runs in LSU’s 6-0 win over Tulane on Tuesday night at Alex Box Stadium.
Fraley, a freshman who struggled with a nasty slump in the fall season, had singles on his first three at-bats, helping stop a skid. He had four hits in his past 27 at-bats entering Tuesday’s game, a streak that dates to LSU’s series loss at Florida.
Starter Kyle Bouman allowed three hits through 4.2 innings in his first outing in more than a week, and relievers Zac Person and Brady Domangue helped their predecessors work out of some sticky jams.
LSU (31-10-1) avenged a 3-2 loss last month to the Green Wave (15-23), and Bouman bounced back from his last outing. He allowed a first-inning grand slam to Arkansas in that series finale a week and a half ago.
He needed some help from Person in this one. Person entered for Bouman in the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs. He retired Jake Rogers to end the inning.
Person (2-1) got the win in front of 5,731.
The Tigers got some redemption for an 11-inning loss at Tulane on March 25.
They dinged up Tulane starter Tyler Mapes, the Green Wave’s No. 1 pitcher, for 12 hits, the most he’s given up this season.
“I thought this was maybe our best offensive performance of the year,” Mainieri said, “when you consider the quality of the starting pitcher we went up against and the quality of the at-bats.”
Batting in the No. 5 hole, Alex Bregman had a pair of hits, and Andrew Stevenson and Mark Laird each had an RBI as LSU re-arranged its batting order again.
The Tigers used a third different three-hole hitter for a third straight game. Conner Hale stuck out twice and drew a walk batting third.
Fraley, batting sixth, went 3-for-4 in the Tigers’ 11th win in 13 games, a run that’s vaulted LSU into the Top 10 in all of the major polls.
Fraley’s third-inning pop through the right side of the infield drove in two runs to give LSU an early 3-0 lead. The hit came with two outs and the bases loaded. Tulane walked Bregman to bring up Fraley.
“They kind of pitched around Breg to get to me,” Fraley said. “In my mind, I kind of pissed myself off to get up there. Was looking for a fastball, and he gave it to me.”
The Delaware native had slipped into somewhat of a hitting funk since Mainieri elevated him nearly a month ago into the team’s 10-11 rotation of starting position players.
Fraley entered fall practice having the best chance of any freshman to earn a starting gig, Mainieri had thought. He struggled at the plate during the fall, though, before finding his swing again over Christmas break.
There was no struggle on Tuesday. Fraley even had a diving catch in the fourth inning on a line drive, stealing a hit from Andrew Garner.
“I honestly believe we’re watching the evolution of, maybe, the next great LSU baseball player,” Mainieri said.
Bouman faced the minimum in the first, third and fourth innings. He walked two and hit a batter. Mainieri called his performance “OK,” and was non-committal on the junior college transfer working back into the starting weekend rotation.
Person had some two-out trouble in the sixth.
He issued a two-out walk, then Lex Kaplan’s hard single bounced off third baseman Christian Ibarra. Domangue struck out Barry Buchowski to strand the pair of runners. But Fraley was the star of this one. Afterward, he was signing T-shirt for kids.
“He’s been a sparkplug for us,” Bregman said. “He works really hard. He deserves everything he gets.”
Written by Ross Dellenger
The Advocate
LSU catches a spark from Jake Fraley to churn past Tulane, 6-0
(April 22, 2014) - At some point this season, if and when Alex Bregman's bat ever heats up, he may get more preferential treatment like he did Tuesday night from Tulane at Alex Box Stadium. When that happens, LSU freshman Jake Fraley would like nothing better than to get a few more chances to make an opponent pay for that particular line of decision-making.
Fraley produced a season-best three hits and drove in the first three Tigers' runs in a 6-0 victory that squared the season series a game apiece and denied the Green Wave its first sweep of the Tigers since 2007.
No. 6-ranked LSU (31-10-1) recorded its second shutout in a row and 13th of the season, extending a newly minted single-season school record. Zac Person got the win, the first of six relievers who got time after Kyle Bouman turned in a solid start with 4.2 innings of work.
Tulane (15-23) managed only 6 hits, just one for extra bases, and was 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
The Tigers racked up 14 hits -12 of those against Green Wave weekend starter Tyler Mapes -- with Andrew Stevenson, Mark Laird and Bregman each supplying a pair.
"This was maybe our best offensive performance of the year when you consider the quality of the pitcher we went up against and the quality of at-bats we had one after the other," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. "Our guys were in there and competing hard against a guy we have a lot of respect for. That guy Mapes is good enough to be a weekend starter for a lot of teams in the SEC."
The offensive sparkplug was unquestionably Fraley, who nudged his season average back up to .315 with a 3-for-4 night.
"Jake is really coming on and I'm really excited about the future with this kid," Mainieri said. "He's developing into a really high-caliber player for us.
"I honestly believe we're watching the evolution of maybe the next great LSU baseball player. This kid can do some great stuff."
The biggest swing by the Delaware native Tuesday came in the 3rd inning right after Mapes pitched gingerly to Bregman with runners at second and third base with two down.
With the Tigers ahead 1-0 off of his RBI hit the inning before, Fraley took a pitch for a ball and then sent a rocket through the right side of the infield to score Andrew Stevenson and Mark Laird to pad LSU's lead to 3-0.
"They kind of pitch around Breg to get to me, so in my mind I kind of pissed myself off," Fraley said. "I was sitting there look for a fastball and he gave it to me and I made the most of it."
That same cast of characters was focal to the Tigers' first run as well.
Hitting in the cleanup spot, Sean McMullen doubled to start the 2nd inning and dashed to second when Bregman - hitting .278 when the game began - lined a single over the second baseman to put runners on the corners.
Fraley wasted no time, whistling a laser over the shortstop's outstretched glove to score McMullen for a 1-0 lead.
It could've much worse for Tulane if not some over-aggressiveness by Bregman that led to the inning fizzling out.
With Bregman and Fraley in motion, Kade Scivicque hit a swinging bunt to the left side and he reached safely , but Bregman rounded third base and took another few steps too far as Tulane third baseman Hunter Hope spun and fired a strike to shortstop Garrett Deschamp for the first out.
continued
Written by Randy Rosetta
Fraley produced a season-best three hits and drove in the first three Tigers' runs in a 6-0 victory that squared the season series a game apiece and denied the Green Wave its first sweep of the Tigers since 2007.
No. 6-ranked LSU (31-10-1) recorded its second shutout in a row and 13th of the season, extending a newly minted single-season school record. Zac Person got the win, the first of six relievers who got time after Kyle Bouman turned in a solid start with 4.2 innings of work.
Tulane (15-23) managed only 6 hits, just one for extra bases, and was 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
The Tigers racked up 14 hits -12 of those against Green Wave weekend starter Tyler Mapes -- with Andrew Stevenson, Mark Laird and Bregman each supplying a pair.
"This was maybe our best offensive performance of the year when you consider the quality of the pitcher we went up against and the quality of at-bats we had one after the other," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. "Our guys were in there and competing hard against a guy we have a lot of respect for. That guy Mapes is good enough to be a weekend starter for a lot of teams in the SEC."
The offensive sparkplug was unquestionably Fraley, who nudged his season average back up to .315 with a 3-for-4 night.
"Jake is really coming on and I'm really excited about the future with this kid," Mainieri said. "He's developing into a really high-caliber player for us.
"I honestly believe we're watching the evolution of maybe the next great LSU baseball player. This kid can do some great stuff."
The biggest swing by the Delaware native Tuesday came in the 3rd inning right after Mapes pitched gingerly to Bregman with runners at second and third base with two down.
With the Tigers ahead 1-0 off of his RBI hit the inning before, Fraley took a pitch for a ball and then sent a rocket through the right side of the infield to score Andrew Stevenson and Mark Laird to pad LSU's lead to 3-0.
"They kind of pitch around Breg to get to me, so in my mind I kind of pissed myself off," Fraley said. "I was sitting there look for a fastball and he gave it to me and I made the most of it."
That same cast of characters was focal to the Tigers' first run as well.
Hitting in the cleanup spot, Sean McMullen doubled to start the 2nd inning and dashed to second when Bregman - hitting .278 when the game began - lined a single over the second baseman to put runners on the corners.
Fraley wasted no time, whistling a laser over the shortstop's outstretched glove to score McMullen for a 1-0 lead.
It could've much worse for Tulane if not some over-aggressiveness by Bregman that led to the inning fizzling out.
With Bregman and Fraley in motion, Kade Scivicque hit a swinging bunt to the left side and he reached safely , but Bregman rounded third base and took another few steps too far as Tulane third baseman Hunter Hope spun and fired a strike to shortstop Garrett Deschamp for the first out.
continued
Written by Randy Rosetta
LSU's Jake Fraley gets into the swing of things as Tigers visit Ole Miss
(April 20, 2014) OXFORD, Miss. -- The video footage was hard to watch. Images were grainy. The picture was shaky.
“It was tough,” said LSU hitting coach Javi Sanchez. “I think it was a camera phone video.”
Sanchez saw enough from the footage of Jake Fraley to help correct the outfielder’s swing over the phone during Christmas break.
Sanchez downloaded the video of Fraley swinging, watched it and called Fraley with tips while the freshman practiced at his Delaware home.
“He had me feeling comfortable,” Fraley said. “I knew when I got back here everything was going to start clicking.”
Click, click.
Following a struggling fall season — the worst hitting skid of his life — Fraley’s bat has heated up.
His playing time continues to increase as LSU (28-9-1, 8-6-1 Southeastern Conference) prepares to face Ole Miss (29-9, 9-6) in a three-game series starting with Thursday’s ESPNU-televised clash.
Fraley has started five of LSU’s last nine games, has driven in 14 runs in 44 at-bats and has five extra-base hits. He’s quickly easing into the starting group with his reliable bat, speed on the bases and solid defense.
“It’s a lot of fun, especially after going through the fall,” Fraley said. “Had such trouble.”
Coach Paul Mainieri expected Fraley to contribute the most this season among his group of freshman position players. That was before fall ball began and Fraley fell into his nasty slump.
A swing that had been so solid as a high school outfielder for Caravel Academy in Middletown, Del., turned sour.
He arrived at LSU in the fall with a more bulky frame. It affected his swing, Sanchez said.
His bat was no longer gliding smoothly through the hitting zone as it did when Sanchez spotted him at a Perfect Game showcase in Florida in 2011.
Fraley’s swing stabbed through the zone in a ‘V’ motion. His hands weren’t still enough at the top, and his footwork was off, too.
Meanwhile, he was facing pitchers like Aaron Nola.
“I sat down with coach Javi and I said, ‘Look, coach, I’m having a lot of trouble. We need to figure something out. Can’t keep doing this,’ ” Fraley said. “Felt like I was just digging myself in a deeper hole.”
Sanchez said: “Every arm he was facing in the fall was the best he’d seen in his career.”
The mechanics of his swing were fixed in December in the Middletown Sports Complex, a new facility in Fraley’s hometown.
While snowy and 20 degrees outside, Fraley practiced inside the facility, his father recording his son’s swing and then emailing it to Sanchez.
Had a freshman ever done that with Sanchez? The coach doesn’t remember one doing so.
“I think the most important thing, the fact the kid was willing to go home over Christmas and put in the work and stay in touch with me,” Sanchez said. “That was the key thing, not so much mechanical.”
Fraley trimmed down, and the mechanics were fixed.
He’s come through with a few clutch hits and has worked his way into the 10-11 position players who Mainieri rotates in his starting group.
“He’s got a bright future,” Mainieri has said of Fraley.
The coach has suggested that Fraley could be a replacement for guys like Sean McMullen, a senior, or Mark Laird, a draft-eligible sophomore.
What’s Fraley think about the future?
“Only God knows that,” he said. "I’m trying to do my best to get better every single day. Trying to keep it the same game I played when I was 12 and a pitcher.”
A pitcher? Yes, Fraley was a big left-hander in his Little League days before he moved to first base and then the outfield.
He played center field through high school and caught the eyes of scouts before sending them away. He wanted to go to college.
Fraley and his parents sent an email to interested teams explaining his intentions to attend college.
He chose LSU over offers from North Carolina and Miami. Sanchez recruited him hard since that summer of 2011 when he spotted him at a showcase.
His eyes drew to Fraley. He fit LSU’s changing recruiting philosophy.
The new bats, instituted in 2011, changed the staff’s recruiting: They wanted more lefty batters and speedy base runners.
Mark Laird and Andrew Stevenson, sophomores, were the first signees who fit the new strategy. They’ve panned out.
Fraley? He’s on his way.
Written by Ross Dellenger
The Advocate
“It was tough,” said LSU hitting coach Javi Sanchez. “I think it was a camera phone video.”
Sanchez saw enough from the footage of Jake Fraley to help correct the outfielder’s swing over the phone during Christmas break.
Sanchez downloaded the video of Fraley swinging, watched it and called Fraley with tips while the freshman practiced at his Delaware home.
“He had me feeling comfortable,” Fraley said. “I knew when I got back here everything was going to start clicking.”
Click, click.
Following a struggling fall season — the worst hitting skid of his life — Fraley’s bat has heated up.
His playing time continues to increase as LSU (28-9-1, 8-6-1 Southeastern Conference) prepares to face Ole Miss (29-9, 9-6) in a three-game series starting with Thursday’s ESPNU-televised clash.
Fraley has started five of LSU’s last nine games, has driven in 14 runs in 44 at-bats and has five extra-base hits. He’s quickly easing into the starting group with his reliable bat, speed on the bases and solid defense.
“It’s a lot of fun, especially after going through the fall,” Fraley said. “Had such trouble.”
Coach Paul Mainieri expected Fraley to contribute the most this season among his group of freshman position players. That was before fall ball began and Fraley fell into his nasty slump.
A swing that had been so solid as a high school outfielder for Caravel Academy in Middletown, Del., turned sour.
He arrived at LSU in the fall with a more bulky frame. It affected his swing, Sanchez said.
His bat was no longer gliding smoothly through the hitting zone as it did when Sanchez spotted him at a Perfect Game showcase in Florida in 2011.
Fraley’s swing stabbed through the zone in a ‘V’ motion. His hands weren’t still enough at the top, and his footwork was off, too.
Meanwhile, he was facing pitchers like Aaron Nola.
“I sat down with coach Javi and I said, ‘Look, coach, I’m having a lot of trouble. We need to figure something out. Can’t keep doing this,’ ” Fraley said. “Felt like I was just digging myself in a deeper hole.”
Sanchez said: “Every arm he was facing in the fall was the best he’d seen in his career.”
The mechanics of his swing were fixed in December in the Middletown Sports Complex, a new facility in Fraley’s hometown.
While snowy and 20 degrees outside, Fraley practiced inside the facility, his father recording his son’s swing and then emailing it to Sanchez.
Had a freshman ever done that with Sanchez? The coach doesn’t remember one doing so.
“I think the most important thing, the fact the kid was willing to go home over Christmas and put in the work and stay in touch with me,” Sanchez said. “That was the key thing, not so much mechanical.”
Fraley trimmed down, and the mechanics were fixed.
He’s come through with a few clutch hits and has worked his way into the 10-11 position players who Mainieri rotates in his starting group.
“He’s got a bright future,” Mainieri has said of Fraley.
The coach has suggested that Fraley could be a replacement for guys like Sean McMullen, a senior, or Mark Laird, a draft-eligible sophomore.
What’s Fraley think about the future?
“Only God knows that,” he said. "I’m trying to do my best to get better every single day. Trying to keep it the same game I played when I was 12 and a pitcher.”
A pitcher? Yes, Fraley was a big left-hander in his Little League days before he moved to first base and then the outfield.
He played center field through high school and caught the eyes of scouts before sending them away. He wanted to go to college.
Fraley and his parents sent an email to interested teams explaining his intentions to attend college.
He chose LSU over offers from North Carolina and Miami. Sanchez recruited him hard since that summer of 2011 when he spotted him at a showcase.
His eyes drew to Fraley. He fit LSU’s changing recruiting philosophy.
The new bats, instituted in 2011, changed the staff’s recruiting: They wanted more lefty batters and speedy base runners.
Mark Laird and Andrew Stevenson, sophomores, were the first signees who fit the new strategy. They’ve panned out.
Fraley? He’s on his way.
Written by Ross Dellenger
The Advocate
Caravel grad Jake Fraley finding place at LSU
(April 19, 2014) BATON ROUGE, La. – Jake Fraley has never been a loser, and he wasn't going to start now.
The Middletown native hit .536 and .492 in his junior and senior seasons at Caravel Academy, earning first team Louisville Slugger All-American and first team All-State honors.
He had his pick of dozens of college programs coveting his five-tool baseball potential. The outfielder may have slotted into an instant starting left field and middle of the lineup role on many teams that courted him. But Fraley chose LSU, where he entered Friday night's game against Mississippi hitting .289 with 15 RBIs this season for the No. 12-ranked Tigers. Fraley's RBI single in the 11th inning Thursday night was key in LSU's 13-inning triumph over the Rebels.
He's still fighting for playing time, but the reason Fraley headed south in simple: national championships.
"I have a rule in baseball: You always want to be around the best baseball players, the best competition, the best pitchers, because that's just going to make me a better player," Fraley said.
LSU is considered the one of the nation's elite college programs, with 16 appearances in the College World Series and six national championships, the last in 2009. The Tigers, who regularly draw thousands to Alex Box Stadium for games, also have led the nation in average fan attendance for 18 consecutive years.
"There were a lot of schools after him," said Caravel coach Paul Niggebrugge. "The big decision for him was whether he was going to go in the draft. He chose not to do that and to attend LSU. The coach there, Paul Mainieri, is a wonderful guy, and he's a guy of character. Jake is as well, so I think it was a great match."
Fraley initially struggled to make the adjustment from Caravel to Baton Rouge. He labored through his first fall practice, offering few glimpses of the skill set that made him one of the Tigers' most prized recruits last spring.
Fraley said he wasn't mentally prepared for his first fall with a new team. It took him a while to get accustomed to the busy offseason schedule and the rigors of college classes.
"It was a big culture shock," Fraley told The Daily Reveille in March. "The biggest part was just getting used to everything with the routine, and then obviously baseball. For the most part, it was just getting used to everything and getting in a routine so I feel comfortable for myself."
Mainieri and hitting coach Javi Sanchez sent the outfielder home for fall break with specific areas of his game to work on, and Fraley came back to Delaware to seek out the man he calls his real hitting coach – his father.
"He's got all the tools," Niggebrugge said. "I think his biggest asset is his coachability, and his work ethic is second to none. I think that's why he is where he is right now."
Fraley said his dad, Marvin, laid out Mainieri and Sanchez's proposed adjustments the same way he had coached Jake his entire life, and the changes finally stuck.
"He came back in January, and he's like a different guy," Mainieri said. "He's more confident, he's more athletic and when we've given him an opportunity to play, he's done good stuff."
Fraley said the spring routine has been easier now that the Tigers are well into their regular-season schedule.
Going forward, Fraley hopes to continue to compete for a starting job, and the more he continues to drive in runs, the harder it may be to keep him out of the lineup, Mainieri said.
In the meantime, Fraley will still get pinch hit and run opportunities – as he did in Thursday – putting his faith in Mainieri and the coaching staff's plan.
"Coach Mainieri is going to do whatever is best for the team, and even if I'm not the one out there, I trust him," Fraley said. "I understand what he's doing. My time will come."
Written by Spencer Hutchinson special to the News Journal
Brad Myers also contributed to the story
The Middletown native hit .536 and .492 in his junior and senior seasons at Caravel Academy, earning first team Louisville Slugger All-American and first team All-State honors.
He had his pick of dozens of college programs coveting his five-tool baseball potential. The outfielder may have slotted into an instant starting left field and middle of the lineup role on many teams that courted him. But Fraley chose LSU, where he entered Friday night's game against Mississippi hitting .289 with 15 RBIs this season for the No. 12-ranked Tigers. Fraley's RBI single in the 11th inning Thursday night was key in LSU's 13-inning triumph over the Rebels.
He's still fighting for playing time, but the reason Fraley headed south in simple: national championships.
"I have a rule in baseball: You always want to be around the best baseball players, the best competition, the best pitchers, because that's just going to make me a better player," Fraley said.
LSU is considered the one of the nation's elite college programs, with 16 appearances in the College World Series and six national championships, the last in 2009. The Tigers, who regularly draw thousands to Alex Box Stadium for games, also have led the nation in average fan attendance for 18 consecutive years.
"There were a lot of schools after him," said Caravel coach Paul Niggebrugge. "The big decision for him was whether he was going to go in the draft. He chose not to do that and to attend LSU. The coach there, Paul Mainieri, is a wonderful guy, and he's a guy of character. Jake is as well, so I think it was a great match."
Fraley initially struggled to make the adjustment from Caravel to Baton Rouge. He labored through his first fall practice, offering few glimpses of the skill set that made him one of the Tigers' most prized recruits last spring.
Fraley said he wasn't mentally prepared for his first fall with a new team. It took him a while to get accustomed to the busy offseason schedule and the rigors of college classes.
"It was a big culture shock," Fraley told The Daily Reveille in March. "The biggest part was just getting used to everything with the routine, and then obviously baseball. For the most part, it was just getting used to everything and getting in a routine so I feel comfortable for myself."
Mainieri and hitting coach Javi Sanchez sent the outfielder home for fall break with specific areas of his game to work on, and Fraley came back to Delaware to seek out the man he calls his real hitting coach – his father.
"He's got all the tools," Niggebrugge said. "I think his biggest asset is his coachability, and his work ethic is second to none. I think that's why he is where he is right now."
Fraley said his dad, Marvin, laid out Mainieri and Sanchez's proposed adjustments the same way he had coached Jake his entire life, and the changes finally stuck.
"He came back in January, and he's like a different guy," Mainieri said. "He's more confident, he's more athletic and when we've given him an opportunity to play, he's done good stuff."
Fraley said the spring routine has been easier now that the Tigers are well into their regular-season schedule.
Going forward, Fraley hopes to continue to compete for a starting job, and the more he continues to drive in runs, the harder it may be to keep him out of the lineup, Mainieri said.
In the meantime, Fraley will still get pinch hit and run opportunities – as he did in Thursday – putting his faith in Mainieri and the coaching staff's plan.
"Coach Mainieri is going to do whatever is best for the team, and even if I'm not the one out there, I trust him," Fraley said. "I understand what he's doing. My time will come."
Written by Spencer Hutchinson special to the News Journal
Brad Myers also contributed to the story
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(March 31, 2014) GAINESVILLE, Fla. --Jake Fraley couldn’t hold back a smile.
It was a rare occurrence Sunday when Florida completed a three-game sweep with an 11-7 win over the LSU baseball team at McKethan Stadium. What made Fraley smile? He was told that coach Paul Mainieri plans to play him more. Fraley, a freshman who gets occasional playing time, drove in two runs and went 2-for-4 on Sunday in just his fifth start of the season. “I thought Jake Fraley really gave us a spark,” Mainieri said. “That was great to see. I’ve got to start playing that kid on a regular basis. There’s no doubt he’s got something going for him.” Told that, Fraley smiled. “It’s music to my ears obviously,” the rookie from Delaware said. “If he wants to give me more time, I’m going to go out there and play my heart out.” |
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Fraley was part of LSU’s early outburst in Sunday’s loss. LSU had three straight hits for the first time in six games. The last of those was Fraley’s two-run scoring line drive double to right-center in the second inning. Fraley is hitting .435 this season and has driven in 12 runs in 22 at-bats.
More importantly, LSU’s offense — at least early on — began breaking out of a two-week slump.
“It’s huge,” Fraley said. “We lost a tough one 11-7. If you want to look on the positive side, 10 hits is a good game, especially against the arms Florida runs out. That’s a positive thing. That’s going to run us into next weekend and hopefully give us a little bit of a jolt.”
Written by Ross Dellenger
The Advocate
More importantly, LSU’s offense — at least early on — began breaking out of a two-week slump.
“It’s huge,” Fraley said. “We lost a tough one 11-7. If you want to look on the positive side, 10 hits is a good game, especially against the arms Florida runs out. That’s a positive thing. That’s going to run us into next weekend and hopefully give us a little bit of a jolt.”
Written by Ross Dellenger
The Advocate
Freshman regains confidence after trip home to Delaware
(March 19, 2014) - It wasn’t a rigorous training program or a new batting stance that transformed LSU freshman Jake Fraley into a budding outfielder in Alex Box Stadium.
All it took was a batting cage, a tee and a trip home.
Fraley was a highly touted player coming out of Caravel Academy in Middletown, Del., but he slowly fell down the list of outfielders fighting for playing time in fall practice as LSU prepared for its 2014 season opener against the University of New Orleans in February.
The freshman struggled with the mental toll of adjusting to his new surroundings in Baton Rouge.
“It was a big culture shock,” Fraley said. “The biggest part was just getting used to everything with the routine, and then obviously baseball. For the most part, it was just getting used to everything and getting in a routine so I feel comfortable for myself."
(March 19, 2014) - It wasn’t a rigorous training program or a new batting stance that transformed LSU freshman Jake Fraley into a budding outfielder in Alex Box Stadium.
All it took was a batting cage, a tee and a trip home.
Fraley was a highly touted player coming out of Caravel Academy in Middletown, Del., but he slowly fell down the list of outfielders fighting for playing time in fall practice as LSU prepared for its 2014 season opener against the University of New Orleans in February.
The freshman struggled with the mental toll of adjusting to his new surroundings in Baton Rouge.
“It was a big culture shock,” Fraley said. “The biggest part was just getting used to everything with the routine, and then obviously baseball. For the most part, it was just getting used to everything and getting in a routine so I feel comfortable for myself."
Fraley wasn’t in Delaware anymore, something that was never more apparent than when he faced Tigers’ ace Aaron Nola. He said he had never stepped to the plate against a pitcher like Nola before, and his confidence was clearly affected — manifesting most noticeably in his lack of offensive production in practice.
Two weeks before leaving for LSU’s annual winter break, Fraley said he worked with Tigers’ hitting coach Javi Sanchez on perfecting his swing before leaving Louisiana for a Delaware reunion.
It was exactly what he needed.
Fraley immediately began working on the lessons Sanchez taught him. For the weeks they were together, the freshman and his father used their old routine to help improve his new approach at the plate.
“I told [my father] everything that me and Coach Javi worked on throughout the fall, and he just kind of applied it in a way to where I would understand it a bit more,” Fraley said. “Just the fact that he was there with me and working with him … he applied it so it was a lot easier for me to translate it through my mind so I could just apply it quicker.”
His father, Marvin Fraley, was an integral piece of Jake’s success on the diamond growing up — he was the mentor Jake looked to throughout his high school career.
“Going to all these different showcases with all these top prospects, they were all talking to me saying, ‘I’ve got this hitting coach that I’ve had for four years,’ or ‘I’ve got this guy that my dad has been paying thousands of bucks for,’” Jake said. “I’m like, ‘I’ve got my dad. He’s my hitting coach.’”
Fraley arrived back in Baton Rouge with renewed confidence, and the results have shown.
Through his first 16 games, he has batted .500 in 14 at-bats with one home run, one triple, two doubles, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored and a stolen base.
The level of play has been more consistent with Fraley’s time at Caravel Academy, where he was a phenom throughout his junior and senior seasons with the Buccaneers, hitting .536 and .492, respectively, and earning All-State recognition after both campaigns.
With LSU entering its second Southeastern Conference series against Georgia, Fraley has taken on an increased role with his newfound confidence.
In a series-opening victory against SEC rival Vanderbilt, LSU coach Paul Mainieri pinch-hit Fraley with two outs in the top of the eighth inning — Fraley reached on an error, eventually bringing sophomore center fielder Andrew Stevenson to the plate, who drove in the winning run for the Tigers.
As the season has pushed on, Mainieri has turned to the freshman more often than not.
“If we weren’t so deep right now in the outfield, I’d be getting him more playing time because I think he’s coming on,” Mainieri said. “I have a lot of confidence when we put him in there. He seems to handle the situation with a lot of poise.”
Fraley said the atmosphere in Alex Box is relaxing, a mindset that differs from the one he held last fall.
“At first, it was overwhelming, as much as I don’t want to say it was,” Fraley said. “I probably just mind-triggered myself in the beginning. After working with the coaches day-in and day-out, I got that comfort feeling with myself mentally and physically.”
Written by Lawrence Barreca
The Daily Reveille
Two weeks before leaving for LSU’s annual winter break, Fraley said he worked with Tigers’ hitting coach Javi Sanchez on perfecting his swing before leaving Louisiana for a Delaware reunion.
It was exactly what he needed.
Fraley immediately began working on the lessons Sanchez taught him. For the weeks they were together, the freshman and his father used their old routine to help improve his new approach at the plate.
“I told [my father] everything that me and Coach Javi worked on throughout the fall, and he just kind of applied it in a way to where I would understand it a bit more,” Fraley said. “Just the fact that he was there with me and working with him … he applied it so it was a lot easier for me to translate it through my mind so I could just apply it quicker.”
His father, Marvin Fraley, was an integral piece of Jake’s success on the diamond growing up — he was the mentor Jake looked to throughout his high school career.
“Going to all these different showcases with all these top prospects, they were all talking to me saying, ‘I’ve got this hitting coach that I’ve had for four years,’ or ‘I’ve got this guy that my dad has been paying thousands of bucks for,’” Jake said. “I’m like, ‘I’ve got my dad. He’s my hitting coach.’”
Fraley arrived back in Baton Rouge with renewed confidence, and the results have shown.
Through his first 16 games, he has batted .500 in 14 at-bats with one home run, one triple, two doubles, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored and a stolen base.
The level of play has been more consistent with Fraley’s time at Caravel Academy, where he was a phenom throughout his junior and senior seasons with the Buccaneers, hitting .536 and .492, respectively, and earning All-State recognition after both campaigns.
With LSU entering its second Southeastern Conference series against Georgia, Fraley has taken on an increased role with his newfound confidence.
In a series-opening victory against SEC rival Vanderbilt, LSU coach Paul Mainieri pinch-hit Fraley with two outs in the top of the eighth inning — Fraley reached on an error, eventually bringing sophomore center fielder Andrew Stevenson to the plate, who drove in the winning run for the Tigers.
As the season has pushed on, Mainieri has turned to the freshman more often than not.
“If we weren’t so deep right now in the outfield, I’d be getting him more playing time because I think he’s coming on,” Mainieri said. “I have a lot of confidence when we put him in there. He seems to handle the situation with a lot of poise.”
Fraley said the atmosphere in Alex Box is relaxing, a mindset that differs from the one he held last fall.
“At first, it was overwhelming, as much as I don’t want to say it was,” Fraley said. “I probably just mind-triggered myself in the beginning. After working with the coaches day-in and day-out, I got that comfort feeling with myself mentally and physically.”
Written by Lawrence Barreca
The Daily Reveille
Freshmen shine as LSU baseball knocks off Southern 8-0 (excerpt)
(March 12, 2014) - Paul Mainieri could hardly sleep on Tuesday night.
It's not that he was nervous about his team's Wednesday night game against Southern, but rather excitement to see how the freshmen-laden lineup he mapped out would perform.
The youngsters didn't disappoint as No. 6 LSU (16-2) pounded out 10 hits en route to a business-like 8-0 victory against the Jaguars in the Tigers' final mid-week tune-up before beginning Southeastern Conference play with a three-game set at Vanderbilt starting Friday.
Jake Fraley continued to swing a hot bat when given the opportunity. He walked to leadoff the game, stole second base, advanced to third when the catcher's throw went into center field and came around to score on Alex Bregman's RBI double into the left-center field gap.
The freshman extended his hitting streak to five games and finished the evening 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs of his own, further inflating his batting average to .600 for the season.
Written by James Moran
NOLA.com
It's not that he was nervous about his team's Wednesday night game against Southern, but rather excitement to see how the freshmen-laden lineup he mapped out would perform.
The youngsters didn't disappoint as No. 6 LSU (16-2) pounded out 10 hits en route to a business-like 8-0 victory against the Jaguars in the Tigers' final mid-week tune-up before beginning Southeastern Conference play with a three-game set at Vanderbilt starting Friday.
Jake Fraley continued to swing a hot bat when given the opportunity. He walked to leadoff the game, stole second base, advanced to third when the catcher's throw went into center field and came around to score on Alex Bregman's RBI double into the left-center field gap.
The freshman extended his hitting streak to five games and finished the evening 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs of his own, further inflating his batting average to .600 for the season.
Written by James Moran
NOLA.com
The Daily Reveille interview (2/23/2014)
Freshmen Lead LSU Past Texas Southern
(February 23, 2014) - Jake Fraley, Jared Poché and Parker Bugg all have something in common. The trio led LSU to a tighter-than-expected 4-1 victory over Texas Southern on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium. Oh, and they’re all true freshmen.
“Told you all along, I liked our class,” coach Paul Mainieri said.
Two weeks into the 2014 season, a theme has emerged with this LSU team: This group of freshmen ain’t bad.
Poché struck out seven in seven innings, Fraley hit a three-run homer and Bugg pulled LSU out of a shaky eighth inning to send the Tigers to a 7-0 start.
Mainieri rested three starters against a Texas Southern team that has won just two of eight games this season.
LSU struggled at the plate — it had four hits — and shortstop Alex Bregman committed two errors and didn’t have a hit for the first time since last year.
It all led to some unexpected drama in the eighth inning.
To the rescue came a freshman. Bugg, a 6-foot-6 California native, cleaned up a mess made by fellow reliever Brady Domangue.
Domangue hit a batter, allowed a single and was yanked after throwing just three pitches. Bugg retired the next three batters, striking out the final two to prompt a roar from the 2,825 in Alex Box Stadium who braved the rainy conditions.
Poché, a freshman who led Lutcher High to the state title last season, got his second win of the season. He allowed four hits and shut out TSU over the first six innings.
And Fraley? He had a soaring, three-run homer in the fourth for the eventual winning runs. He smacked a 2-2, high fastball over the right-field wall to bring in Christian Ibarra and Kade Scivicque.
Just freshmen doing their thing.
“This group, we’ve jelled from Day One,” Poché said. “Love those guys. They’ve been successful their entire life. They’re bringing it to the next level.”
LSU opened the season with seven straight wins for the first time in three years, and the Tigers have showed off a freshman signing class that ranked in the top 10.
It hasn’t just been the trio from Sunday night.
LSU’s three freshman pitchers — Bugg, Poché and Alden Cartwright — have combined to throw 18 innings. They’ve struck out 18 and allowed 10 hits and two runs. They haven’t walked a batter.
At the plate, the top four rookies have combined for a .296 average and nine RBIs.
Second baseman Kramer Robertson and his defensive gems are pushing for an everyday role, and Fraley’s a contender in the outfield.
Poché appears to be a favorite to land an SEC weekend starting spot, and Bugg might be LSU’s top reliever.
“It’s full of a lot of guys who compete,” said Bregman, a sophomore. “I think they’re a polished class, and I think we’re going to expect a lot from them this year.”
They’ve all pulled together to help this squad remain undefeated and likely move into the No. 1 spot in a couple of polls Monday.
Still, seven games through a 50-plus-game season, the Tigers have their problems.
The rap sheet includes an uncertain cleanup spot, some unusual errors from their star shortstop and a reliever, Domangue, who has caused some unnecessary theater in two appearances.
And the Tigers continue to search for a cleanup hitter. LSU has used four players at the No. 4 spot in the lineup, and they’re are a combined 6-for-29 (.207). Jared Foster, Conner Hale, Chris Chinea and Ibarra all have started there.
In the field, LSU has committed five errors through seven games. Four have come from Bregman, all on throws to first. Three were high, and one was wide of the bag.
“I need to make those plays in the future,” he said. “It’s not a big deal. I’m going to fix it.”
And then there’s Domangue, who starred at LSU-Eunice the past two seasons. He has struggled in two appearances.
Domangue lasted just three pitches Sunday. In his first appearances last Saturday, he walked the bases loaded and allowed three runs.
“Just disappointing when he hits the guy with the first pitch,” Mainieri said Sunday. “He looked so good in practice. … Tough break for the kid. I hated taking him out. My loyalty is to the whole team as a group.”
That includes the freshmen, an impressive crew seeing a lot of playing time.
“It’d be very easy for me to play the nine guys I think we could win every game with,” Mainieri said. “But how do kids grow if you are afraid to run them out there?” Groundballs
LSU has won 27 straight nonconference games at home and 24 in a row over SWAC schools. … Sunday’s game was set to start at 3 p.m. but was delayed to 5 because of thunderstorms. ... LSU hosts Louisiana-Lafayette at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Written by Ross Dellenger
TheAdvocate.com
“Told you all along, I liked our class,” coach Paul Mainieri said.
Two weeks into the 2014 season, a theme has emerged with this LSU team: This group of freshmen ain’t bad.
Poché struck out seven in seven innings, Fraley hit a three-run homer and Bugg pulled LSU out of a shaky eighth inning to send the Tigers to a 7-0 start.
Mainieri rested three starters against a Texas Southern team that has won just two of eight games this season.
LSU struggled at the plate — it had four hits — and shortstop Alex Bregman committed two errors and didn’t have a hit for the first time since last year.
It all led to some unexpected drama in the eighth inning.
To the rescue came a freshman. Bugg, a 6-foot-6 California native, cleaned up a mess made by fellow reliever Brady Domangue.
Domangue hit a batter, allowed a single and was yanked after throwing just three pitches. Bugg retired the next three batters, striking out the final two to prompt a roar from the 2,825 in Alex Box Stadium who braved the rainy conditions.
Poché, a freshman who led Lutcher High to the state title last season, got his second win of the season. He allowed four hits and shut out TSU over the first six innings.
And Fraley? He had a soaring, three-run homer in the fourth for the eventual winning runs. He smacked a 2-2, high fastball over the right-field wall to bring in Christian Ibarra and Kade Scivicque.
Just freshmen doing their thing.
“This group, we’ve jelled from Day One,” Poché said. “Love those guys. They’ve been successful their entire life. They’re bringing it to the next level.”
LSU opened the season with seven straight wins for the first time in three years, and the Tigers have showed off a freshman signing class that ranked in the top 10.
It hasn’t just been the trio from Sunday night.
LSU’s three freshman pitchers — Bugg, Poché and Alden Cartwright — have combined to throw 18 innings. They’ve struck out 18 and allowed 10 hits and two runs. They haven’t walked a batter.
At the plate, the top four rookies have combined for a .296 average and nine RBIs.
Second baseman Kramer Robertson and his defensive gems are pushing for an everyday role, and Fraley’s a contender in the outfield.
Poché appears to be a favorite to land an SEC weekend starting spot, and Bugg might be LSU’s top reliever.
“It’s full of a lot of guys who compete,” said Bregman, a sophomore. “I think they’re a polished class, and I think we’re going to expect a lot from them this year.”
They’ve all pulled together to help this squad remain undefeated and likely move into the No. 1 spot in a couple of polls Monday.
Still, seven games through a 50-plus-game season, the Tigers have their problems.
The rap sheet includes an uncertain cleanup spot, some unusual errors from their star shortstop and a reliever, Domangue, who has caused some unnecessary theater in two appearances.
And the Tigers continue to search for a cleanup hitter. LSU has used four players at the No. 4 spot in the lineup, and they’re are a combined 6-for-29 (.207). Jared Foster, Conner Hale, Chris Chinea and Ibarra all have started there.
In the field, LSU has committed five errors through seven games. Four have come from Bregman, all on throws to first. Three were high, and one was wide of the bag.
“I need to make those plays in the future,” he said. “It’s not a big deal. I’m going to fix it.”
And then there’s Domangue, who starred at LSU-Eunice the past two seasons. He has struggled in two appearances.
Domangue lasted just three pitches Sunday. In his first appearances last Saturday, he walked the bases loaded and allowed three runs.
“Just disappointing when he hits the guy with the first pitch,” Mainieri said Sunday. “He looked so good in practice. … Tough break for the kid. I hated taking him out. My loyalty is to the whole team as a group.”
That includes the freshmen, an impressive crew seeing a lot of playing time.
“It’d be very easy for me to play the nine guys I think we could win every game with,” Mainieri said. “But how do kids grow if you are afraid to run them out there?” Groundballs
LSU has won 27 straight nonconference games at home and 24 in a row over SWAC schools. … Sunday’s game was set to start at 3 p.m. but was delayed to 5 because of thunderstorms. ... LSU hosts Louisiana-Lafayette at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Written by Ross Dellenger
TheAdvocate.com
Position Outlook: Left Field (excerpt)
(July 1, 2013) - LSU’s 2013 signing class featured a bevy of outfield talent for the coaching staff to choose from in the coming months. As of right now, it seems that two names are likely candidates to handle the left field duties for the 2014 season. First, there is Jarret DeHart out of New Jersey. DeHart is a combo player that stars on defense and offense. He would add an element of power to the LSU lineup from the outfield that has not been seen in quite some time. He is also an exceptional defender. DeHart has a very good chance of taking over for Rhymes in 2014.
While DeHart has all of the tools to be an immediate contributor for the Tigers in left field, another signee stands out above all of the other possibilities. Jake Fraley out of Delaware is a five-tool player that Paul Mainieri poured a lot of time and effort into to try to get to campus. It eventually paid off as Fraley told professional scouts that he would not entertain being drafted and would play college baseball. He is also likely a player that will be in the program for three years and then possibly be a top round pick after his junior season. Fraley is excellent arm strength from the outfield and will fit right in with the speed of Laird and Andrew Stevenson right away. Offensively, it’s more of the same for Fraley. He is a power hitter that hits for average from the left side.
Fraley has the ability to excel at any of the three outfield positions, but left field will allow him to progress slowly. All in all, it will be hard to keep him off the field next season.
Projected 2014 starter: Jake Fraley
Written by Austin Cooper
TigerSportsDigest.com
While DeHart has all of the tools to be an immediate contributor for the Tigers in left field, another signee stands out above all of the other possibilities. Jake Fraley out of Delaware is a five-tool player that Paul Mainieri poured a lot of time and effort into to try to get to campus. It eventually paid off as Fraley told professional scouts that he would not entertain being drafted and would play college baseball. He is also likely a player that will be in the program for three years and then possibly be a top round pick after his junior season. Fraley is excellent arm strength from the outfield and will fit right in with the speed of Laird and Andrew Stevenson right away. Offensively, it’s more of the same for Fraley. He is a power hitter that hits for average from the left side.
Fraley has the ability to excel at any of the three outfield positions, but left field will allow him to progress slowly. All in all, it will be hard to keep him off the field next season.
Projected 2014 starter: Jake Fraley
Written by Austin Cooper
TigerSportsDigest.com
Coach Mainieri Announces 2014 Roster
June 15, 2013
MLB Draft Preview - Part 2: Signing Class (excerpt)
(May 20, 2013) - Jake Fraley is another speedy outfielder from the northeast, coming from Middleton, Deleware. Fraley's speed really stands out and is in the Mark Laird / Andrew Stevenson category. In fact, thinking about the three of those guys in the outfield together at the same time is fun. Like Dehart, Fraley also bats from the left side. He's got good size at 6'1" 185. Even if Fraley struggles with SEC pitching initially, a guy like Andrew Stevenson has shown that you can still make an impact on games with speed and defense. Fraley is highly thought of by the scouts and could very well end up signing pro instead of coming to LSU. He's definitely one of the names to circle as you follow the draft, and I'd put things right at 50/50 in terms of him ever playing at LSU.
Written by Kris Brauner
AndTheValleyShook.com
AndTheValleyShook.com
Prep baseball: Huge second inning propels Caravel
GLASGOW (April 23, 2013) -- Top-ranked Caravel knew the key to victory in Monday’s battle of unbeatens with second-seeded St. Elizabeth would be energy.
The Buccaneers were the ones who played with more fire, as evidenced by their nine-run second inning. They blew past the Vikings, 11-1, in five innings in nonconference baseball action to remain undefeated. “We just knew we had to keep our composure and just keep the energy up, and if we win that game, we’d win the entire game,” said Hunter Ellis, who picked up the victory in relief for Caravel.
The game got off to a rocky start for Caravel. St. Elizabeth jumped to 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Matthew Sheehan doubled in Daniel Klusman with two outs. The Buccaneers (9-0) responded with two runs in the bottom of the first when Austin Niggebrugge and Tyler Williams scored on wild pitches.
GLASGOW (April 23, 2013) -- Top-ranked Caravel knew the key to victory in Monday’s battle of unbeatens with second-seeded St. Elizabeth would be energy.
The Buccaneers were the ones who played with more fire, as evidenced by their nine-run second inning. They blew past the Vikings, 11-1, in five innings in nonconference baseball action to remain undefeated. “We just knew we had to keep our composure and just keep the energy up, and if we win that game, we’d win the entire game,” said Hunter Ellis, who picked up the victory in relief for Caravel.
The game got off to a rocky start for Caravel. St. Elizabeth jumped to 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Matthew Sheehan doubled in Daniel Klusman with two outs. The Buccaneers (9-0) responded with two runs in the bottom of the first when Austin Niggebrugge and Tyler Williams scored on wild pitches.
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The Vikings (10-1) threatened in the top of the second when they put runners on first and second with one out, but Ellis came into the game and proceeded to get a fielder’s choice at second and a fly out to end the threat.
Ellis opened the decisive bottom of the second with a single, and following a strikeout, Chad Bradford walked and Niggebrugge was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Jake Fraley. St. Elizabeth tapped Sheehan to pitch to Fraley. After two balls, Fraley saw a pitch he liked and deposited it over the right-center field fence for a grand slam to give Caravel a 6-0 lead. “I looked at my coach, and we went through a plan. I was looking, hunting for a pitch low,” Fraley said. “He threw two outside pitches that were high. He threw me that low pitch, and I saw it and exploded on it.” |
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Caravel continued the onslaught by adding five more runs in the inning. Williams scored on a Ryan Zwier double while Summerfield and Zwier scored on fielding errors. The final two runs of the inning came on a double by Niggebrugge to give the Buccaneers an 11-1 lead.
Ellis shut down the Vikings for the next two innings, allowing just a single hit and a walk. Connor Corbitt pitched a perfect fifth inning to clinch the win for Caravel.
“We were fortunate. Obviously, it’s a good St. E team. We wanted to come out here and win the energy game. That was important to us, and we did win the energy game,” Caravel coach Paul Niggebrugge said.
Written by Kevin Phillips
Special to The News Journal
Ellis shut down the Vikings for the next two innings, allowing just a single hit and a walk. Connor Corbitt pitched a perfect fifth inning to clinch the win for Caravel.
“We were fortunate. Obviously, it’s a good St. E team. We wanted to come out here and win the energy game. That was important to us, and we did win the energy game,” Caravel coach Paul Niggebrugge said.
Written by Kevin Phillips
Special to The News Journal
Caravel bats ignite for rally in win against St. Mark's
Sluggish until the 5th inning,Buccaneers beat Spartans
GLASGOW (April 4, 2013) — For the first four innings of Wednesday’s nonconference baseball contest, Caravel just could not solve St. Mark’s pitcher Billy Phillips, as they were held hitless in those innings.
That changed in the bottom of the fifth inning when the Buccaneers recorded five hits in a four-run rally to charge past the Spartans for a
4-3 home victory.
“Well, we all just stayed focused and made sure we kept our energy up,” Caravel freshman Brandon Fraley said. “We just stayed up as a team. We strung hits together and all came through.”
The Buccaneers trailed St. Mark’s 1-0 heading into the fifth, but Brendan Erne led off the inning with a walk and was pinch run for by Dennis Robinson. Following a groundout, Chad Bradford had Caravel’s first hit off of Phillips with a bunt single down the third base line. Bradford stole
second to put two runner in scoring position, and Fraley put the Buccaneers on the board with a single up the middle, plating Robinson and Bradford to give them a 2-1 lead.
“I knew there were runners on first and second, I didn’t know whether I was going to bunt. Once they moved up a base, the infield came up,” Fraley said of his hit. “I knew all I had to do is get the barrel on the ball and did my job.”
Fraley scored on Austin Niggebrugge’s RBI single to make the score 3-1, and Jake Fraley culminated the Caravel explosion with a bloop double to left field to drive in Niggebrugge and make it a three-run game.
The Spartans responded with two runs in the top of the sixth when Calvin Scott scored on Jonathan Mathers’s RBI single, and Mathers scored on a wild pitch and a throwing error by the catcher.
That changed in the bottom of the fifth inning when the Buccaneers recorded five hits in a four-run rally to charge past the Spartans for a
4-3 home victory.
“Well, we all just stayed focused and made sure we kept our energy up,” Caravel freshman Brandon Fraley said. “We just stayed up as a team. We strung hits together and all came through.”
The Buccaneers trailed St. Mark’s 1-0 heading into the fifth, but Brendan Erne led off the inning with a walk and was pinch run for by Dennis Robinson. Following a groundout, Chad Bradford had Caravel’s first hit off of Phillips with a bunt single down the third base line. Bradford stole
second to put two runner in scoring position, and Fraley put the Buccaneers on the board with a single up the middle, plating Robinson and Bradford to give them a 2-1 lead.
“I knew there were runners on first and second, I didn’t know whether I was going to bunt. Once they moved up a base, the infield came up,” Fraley said of his hit. “I knew all I had to do is get the barrel on the ball and did my job.”
Fraley scored on Austin Niggebrugge’s RBI single to make the score 3-1, and Jake Fraley culminated the Caravel explosion with a bloop double to left field to drive in Niggebrugge and make it a three-run game.
The Spartans responded with two runs in the top of the sixth when Calvin Scott scored on Jonathan Mathers’s RBI single, and Mathers scored on a wild pitch and a throwing error by the catcher.
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St. Mark’s had one last chance to extend the game in the seventh inning when Dominic DiSabitino and Scott reached base with two outs, but reliever Cory Hart forced Gilbert Peralta to fly out to right field to end the game.
Written by Kevin Phillips Special to The News Journal |
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Signing Day 2012
(November 14, 2012) - It's official. Jake signed committment papers with Louisiana State University. GEAUX TIGERS!!
All-State Baseball: Delaware
Updated: March 1, 2012, 9:57 AM ET
By ESPNHS
With spring approaching, ESPNHS has all the info you need on the top high school baseball players in Delaware.
We've broken down the state's top 20 players into two teams -- one of position players and
one of pitchers. Keep in mind, these preseason selections were determined by a combination of in-season performance and recruit rankings.
POSITION PLAYERS
Tyler Dean, Indian River, SS/2B/3B, Senior
Signed to play for the University of Delaware.
Jake Dmiterchik, Cape Henlopen, 1B/3B, Senior
Hit .340 with five home runs as a junior.
Jake Fraley, Red Lion Christian Academy, OF/1B, Junior
One of state's top prospects has already committed to LSU.
Jared Fersch, Concord, C/1B, Senior
First team All-DE designated hitter as a junior.
Alec Hoeschel, Charter School of Wilmington, SS/3B, Junior
Rising prospect had seven hits (three triples) in one game.
Jamie Jarmon, Indian River, OF, Senior
State's best athlete is headed to University of South Carolina.
Derrick May, Tatnall, OF, Senior
All-DE as a junior after hitting .460 with 23 runs and 23 RBIs.
Mitchell Moore, Dover, 3B/RHP, Senior
One of two juniors to land on first team All-DE squad last spring.
Evan Mitchell, Tower Hill, 3B/SS/RHP, Junior
Named second-team All-DEas a sophomorer.
Danny Shea, Salesianum, OF/RHP, Senior
Strong-armed outfielder is committed to Monmouth University.
By ESPNHS
With spring approaching, ESPNHS has all the info you need on the top high school baseball players in Delaware.
We've broken down the state's top 20 players into two teams -- one of position players and
one of pitchers. Keep in mind, these preseason selections were determined by a combination of in-season performance and recruit rankings.
POSITION PLAYERS
Tyler Dean, Indian River, SS/2B/3B, Senior
Signed to play for the University of Delaware.
Jake Dmiterchik, Cape Henlopen, 1B/3B, Senior
Hit .340 with five home runs as a junior.
Jake Fraley, Red Lion Christian Academy, OF/1B, Junior
One of state's top prospects has already committed to LSU.
Jared Fersch, Concord, C/1B, Senior
First team All-DE designated hitter as a junior.
Alec Hoeschel, Charter School of Wilmington, SS/3B, Junior
Rising prospect had seven hits (three triples) in one game.
Jamie Jarmon, Indian River, OF, Senior
State's best athlete is headed to University of South Carolina.
Derrick May, Tatnall, OF, Senior
All-DE as a junior after hitting .460 with 23 runs and 23 RBIs.
Mitchell Moore, Dover, 3B/RHP, Senior
One of two juniors to land on first team All-DE squad last spring.
Evan Mitchell, Tower Hill, 3B/SS/RHP, Junior
Named second-team All-DEas a sophomorer.
Danny Shea, Salesianum, OF/RHP, Senior
Strong-armed outfielder is committed to Monmouth University.
