His bat woke up in time

If they gave an award for the greatest turnaround by a college baseball player, then Jake Christman of Newton, a second baseman at Franklin Pierce College, would be a prime candidate.

A career.179 hitter with a total of 67 at-bats in his previous two seasons at Franklin Pierce, the senior this season has hit .340 -- fourth best on the team -- while starting all 58 regular-season and regional tournament games for the Ravens, who were 49-9. The squad made it to the NCAA Division 2 College World Series.

A left-handed batter hitting sixth or seventh in the order, Christman has been an offensive catalyst with 6 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs, 41 runs scored, and 23 runs batted in. He ranked second on the team with 29 walks and a .426 on-base percentage and had 11 steals in 17 attempts. His all-around performance earned him a berth on the All-Northeast-10 Conference team and the Daktronics All-Northeast Region second team.

Christman's collegiate baseball career, however, nearly ended two years ago.

Frustrated by lingering tonsillitis and his lack of playing time, he quit the team and missed the entire 2005 season. He briefly considered transferring to Clark University, a Division 3 school in Worcester for which he could have played both baseball and basketball.

Buoyed by a positive summer league experience that once again whetted his appetite for baseball, Christman returned to the Franklin Pierce squad a year ago. He was used sparingly and batted just .164, mainly because Red Sox draft pick and All-American Mike Chambers was the starting second baseman and Minnesota Twins draft pick Garrett Olson was the starting third baseman.

But Christman was back and waiting in the wings.

"Looking back, I don't consider the previous three seasons here as wasted time," said Christman, who was a baseball captain at Newton South High and a Dual County League all-star in basketball, with the point guard helping the Lions reach the postseason in his junior and senior years. "If anything, not playing much and being away from college baseball that one season has made me work harder to prove that I belong. And it's taught me a valuable lesson about commitment."

With the departure of Chambers and Olson, the second base job was "his to lose" this season, Franklin Pierce head coach Jayson King told Christman.

"He's playing his best baseball right now," said King, who first saw Christman play in the College Select Showcase in Connecticut in 2003. "When Jake first came here, he was a decent player but a work in progress, and I know he was frustrated. Still, I always felt that someday he'd be a starter. It just took a while for him to get there."

Christman, who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds, was selected to the Northeast Regional All-Tournament team at second base after hitting .385 (5 for 13) in the tournament with two runs scored, a double, triple, two RBIs and two steals. He also handled 21 chances in the field without an error to help tournament host Franklin Pierce clinch its second consecutive College World Series invitation.

Franklin Pierce was eliminated in two games last weekend in Montgomery, Ala. Christman started both games and had two hits in eight at-bats.

The turning point for Christman, whose older brother, Zach, is the freshman baseball coach at Newton South, occurred in summer 2005. Some of his American Legion teammates in Newton were planning to play for the South Boston entry in the Yawkey League, and asked Christman to join them. "By that time, I was feeling physically better and I missed playing. That summer, baseball became fun again. My teammates and coaches told me I was ready for college ball again. I was rejuvenated."

He hit .370 in the Yawkey League, and last summer, playing for Medford against tougher competition in the Inner City League, he batted .291 while gaining experience at second base, a new position for Christman, who was a pitcher, third baseman, and outfielder in high school.

"When I came home to pack my suitcase for the Montgomery trip, I had a chance to see Newton South play and see my coach and friends, which was great," said Christman, whose college teammates include sophomore lefty pitcher Jeff Paulsen of Framingham, who had a 3-0 record and 29 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings.

Christman, a sports management major, plans to pursue a master's degree in business at Franklin Pierce and use his remaining season of eligibility to play for the Ravens.

"I couldn't be happier to be back," said Christman, whose entourage in Montgomery included his parents and brother from Newton.

"I remember when I e-mailed coach King two years ago and said I wanted to come back, he said he would give me all the chances in the world to succeed. That's why playing in the College World Series is a dream come true and well worth the wait."