April 2, 2007
Waldo (Maine) Independent:
Frankfort's pitching brothers excelling at the college and high school levels

This article is reprinted with permission of the Waldo Independent. It ran on March 17, 2007.
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By Matthew Doak

(Nashua) - Brothers having successful sports careers is nothing new for Waldo County. Among the latest are Mike Adams, a sophomore at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H. and younger brother Nathan, a junior at Searsport District High School. Both are doing great things on the baseball diamond.

Mike, a center fielder and pitcher, traveled with his Eagle teammates this past week to the Disney ABC Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. for their baseball spring training trip, playing nine games in about a week. Nathan made the trek down with his parents, not only to watch his older brother, but to visit a couple colleges, as he is looking to continue his baseball career past high school as well.

With one year under his belt already, Mike is much more confident this spring. He is looking to build on last year’s accomplishments and help lead a very young Division III squad.

“It is a pretty big adjustment going from high school to college baseball, both as a hitter and a pitcher. You see quality pitchers every day who have better movement and throw harder and you have to become a lot quicker,” he said. “As a pitcher, you face teams that have good hitters all the way through the lineup. Everyone in college can hit the ball. You can’t let down at any time.”

On last year’s spring trip to Orlando, Mike hit close to .400 but tailed off a bit upon returning to the Northeast. This year he is looking to be consistent throughout the season. Mike played and started in over half of the Eagle games in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. His primary position was center field, although he did get one start on the mound against Johnson Wales in Rhode Island.

“I should see the bulk of the time in center field and I am more confident because I have faced a lot of the pitchers we will see again this year, which will help a lot. I am hoping to see more pitching time and play a larger role on the team this spring,” said Mike. “From a hitting standpoint, I will be ready for the transition from warm to cold weather and more prepared to maintain some success offensively, defensively and pitching.”

The head coach at Daniel Webster is Jim Cardello, who is in his fifth season. He brings a lot of experience to the team from his college playing days and focuses on the fundamentals.

“He really emphasizes the little things, like laying down a bunt the right way and focuses on pitching and defense first. He still plays in an over-30 league in the summer as well. He has a lot of baseball experience and is fun to play for,” said Mike. “He is determined to build a successful program and I like to think I can help with that. We have a lot of freshmen this year and I will be able to help them get adjusted.”

Off the baseball field, Mike keeps busy as an aviation/air traffic management major, which is what Daniel Webster College specializes in. He also excels academically, earning Dean’s List marks with at least a 3.5 grade point average.

“This is overwhelmingly a flight school with air traffic up and coming more and more with better equipment to prepare us. This is the field I want to go into and even though it is near a good-sized city, the campus is small and the classes are small,” said Mike. “Coming from a small town and small high school, this was a good fit for me. I liked the size, plus I wanted to play baseball. It worked out very well.”

After school, Mike is looking at the possibility of working at an airport tower or radar facility, putting all those classes to good use.

“So far the classes are background and basic information. Our junior and senior year is when we get to do more hands-on stuff. We will get to use the radar simulation lab and tower simulator,” said Mike. “I have had the opportunity to use the radar simulator. It is pretty fine-tuned. It is programmed so if you make a mistake, it will question your command or decision giving you the feeling you are talking with a pilot in a real-life situation. It feels pretty natural to me. It seems like a big video game, but obviously a lot more serious.”

While Nathan went down to Florida a year ago to relax in the sun, this trip was going to be a little more serious, with his future on his mind.

“I am going to look at the University of Tampa and then meet with the baseball coach at the University of Florida Southern in Lakeland,” Nathan said before the trip. “I really want to take some time to see what it is like and see if I can see myself going to school down there. It is pretty exciting.”

Nathan comes off the 2006 season where he helped the Searsport baseball team win the Class C State Championship, picking up many key victories including a win over rival George Stevens Academy in the playoffs. He followed that up with a successful Legion season as well.

“Obviously we come into the season with a lot of high hopes. But I remember what Coach Pepin said last year looking up at the banners on the ceiling in the gym,” said Nathan. “He said he wanted an Eastern Maine and state banner and that’s the goal every year. It’s not a guarantee and it will take a lot of hard work like last year to get back there.”

After getting a few innings on the mound as a freshman and really coming into his own last year, Nathan is looking for bigger and better things this year from a personal standpoint.

“I have been working with Tom Mosseau and he has taught me so much. The biggest change with my pitching is working on my side-arm delivery that I still use sometimes. I am focusing on keeping it overhand with even balance. I know I need to do this to avoid injuries and have a more consistent release point,” said Nathan, who was clocked in the low 80s last year. “Once I figure out all the little things and master them with repetition, I think I will notice even more improvement.”

Mike knows the sky is the limit for his little brother and he is very excited about what the future holds.

“It’s too bad I didn’t get to play with him a little more when he was a freshman and I was a senior in high school, but he has shown so much improvement working with Tom. He is preparing a lot better and he is smarter about pitching,” said Mike. “He shut out GSA, which is remarkable. I am excited to see what happens this year, not only in high school, but Legion too. It is scary to think how good he can be and he is only scratching the surface right now. If he keeps working hard he has a great career ahead of him.”

For Nathan, he couldn’t be more thrilled watching his older brother, someone he has been looking up to for his entire life, play at the college level.

“Ever since before Little League I have watched Mike and wanted to do what he did and wanted to be like him. It is so much fun watching him, always contributing to his team. He isn’t overpowering, but he does all the little things right and does everything well,” said Nathan. “He has always been a good point guard in basketball and so good in baseball, whether it is hitting to all fields, base running or whatever. To be playing Division III college baseball and going to spring training in Florida like he is doing, is really cool.”