By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Mike Friel feels pretty good about the way that his college baseball career started at Connecticut.
The Montgomery High School graduate feels even better about how it’s going to go from here on out.
”The last thing Coach said to me is, freshman year is the hardest,” Friel said. “It gets easier after this. I feel confident I have a bright future. They’ve told me I’ll do good things for the program.”
Friel made quite a debut for a UConn team that advanced all the way to the NCAA Super Regional round before falling two wins shy of a berth in the College World Series last week.
”It’s such a great run,” said Friel, who was 0 for 2 with a walk in the Huskies’ 5-1 loss to South Carolina in their first game of the Super Regional. “Every single kid on our team would tell you they’re not as happy as they thought they would be. More people that follow our program would say they’re happy we got that far.
”We’re the first Northeast team to ever get to a Super Regional. To come up two wins away from getting to Omaha, it’s bittersweet. It’s tough but everyone is happy with it.”
Straight out of Montgomery, Friel proved to be college-ready as he opened the season as the starter at second base for a UConn team that was loaded with talent. Friel played in 24 games, 18 as a starter, and hit .264 with a pair of doubles and eight RBI. In the field, he made just three errors.
”I knew I was coming into a program with a lot of good players,” Friel said. “Ten were drafted, two in the first round. I knew it would be pretty crazy playing with these prospects. It was a pretty crazy ride. It’s probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had playing baseball.”
Friel credits his experiences at Montgomery with helping him prepare to play at a high level. Friel was a senior when the Cougars won the Somerset County Tournament and put together one of the best seasons in program history.
”I played some pretty good competition, a bunch of other Division I players in our conference,” he recalled. “We were playing some championship games, and they helped a lot.
”You see how fast things can change. Some of those big, big games is what the college game is like. You get a little taste of it.”
There were still adjustments to be made to contribute to the college game. Friel, though, was a quick study.
”There’s a lot,” Friel said. “It’s the same game, but it feels like a whole new game. The speed of the game triples on you really fast. The biggest part was the mental part of the game, always being locked in 100 percent and always knowing what’s going on and not letting the game speed up on you. In college, if you slip up for a second, you get picked off or make an error. The toughest part was just staying locked in at the pace of the game you don’t really play in high school.
”Once you get that down, it helps. The whole pitching, it wasn’t too much of a jump. I faced a lot of that in the summer. Just the overall pace, the mental part, was a big adjustment.”
Friel also had to be mentally tough when he was moved to the bench after the early portion of the season, particularly given that he was playing against some of the toughest teams on UConn’s schedule, such as California, Oregon State, UC Irvine and San Diego. He continued to contribute, however, and continued to develop.
”My fielding and my arm strength has gotten a lot better,” Friel said. “That’s from taking hundreds of ground balls and playing long toss every day. We have three-hour practices. My fielding has gotten a lot better. That’s part of the reason I was able to start.”
Friel is hoping to earn the starting spot next year and keep it for the season. Depending on what draft picks sign and return, Friel could be competing for a spot at either second or third base in the infield. He is preparing this summer by playing six days per week in the Valley League in Virginia.
”The summer after freshman year, you make a lot of your strides,” he said. “I’ve never played this much baseball. You can tell you’re getting better and better and better.”
Friel wants to keep that going each year so he can be in a position to get a shot at the pros one day. Going to UConn certainly helps his chances to be seen by scouts. That opportunity is a bonus on top of the successful run the Huskies put together at the end of the year.
”We had scouts at just about every one of practices and games,” Friel said. “It’s appealing. Any baseball player, that’s your dream. You have to take baby steps to get there. It takes time and a work and a little luck, and hopefully it works out.”
Friel’s first focus is to get back in the starting lineup for UConn next year, and to be an even bigger part of their team as they gear up for a more consistent season. This year was full of ups like the Super Regional appearance and downs like the slow start and an uncharacteristically sloppy Big East Tournament. Mike Friel learned from his first year in the college level, and he’s looking to put that to use in the years to come.
”Every player on our team is a really, really good player,” Friel said. “I started at second in the beginning. The team wasn’t doing so well and I fell off. I was able to DH a good amount.
”I got to start in the Super Regional. That they still had me DH’ing in the Super Regional shows they still have high expectations for me in the future and a lot of confidence in me. I have high expectations and they have high expectations for me next year.”
