POWER SURGE: Luke Franzoni follows through on a swing this spring for the Xavier University baseball team. Former Princeton Day School standout Franzoni enjoyed a huge season for Xavier, batting .385 with school single-season record in homers (29) and RBIs (78). He was named the BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year and earned American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-America Third Team honors as the Musketeers went 33-27 and advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament. (Photo provided courtesy of Xavier Athletics)

By Bill Alden

When the pandemic halted the sports world in March 2020, Luke Franzoni headed home from the Xavier University baseball team and went to work.

Along with his older brother Paul, a star catcher for NJIT, and younger brother Ian, a Brown University running back, they turned their garage in Robbinsville into a weight room.

“We wanted to take it upon ourselves to just get stronger,” said Franzoni. “A bunch of our friends just donated any gym equipment that we had into our garage and everyone would come every day. It was a lot of lifting and lot of eating. Kudos to my parents for feeding all of us. They were probably only used to feeding Ian, who was the only one home at that point. For the summer they had me and Paul and the other guys, it was like feeding an entire village.”

That work paid off as Franzoni packed on 20-25 pounds of muscle, going from 185 pounds to around 205, and enjoyed a superb 2021 junior season, batting .279 with nine homers and 28 RBIs as Xavier went 28-26 and lost to UConn in the BIG EAST tournament final.

“It was great to get a full season, we made a good run,” said Franzoni. “We were pretty young at that point. That year was a really good step in the right direction because a lot of guys matured.”

Coming into the 2022 season, Franzoni followed a similar formula last fall along with his teammates.

“Our coaches were really big in the fall, trying to get our entire team really strong,” said Franzoni. “We lifted like five days a week in the fall, they did a really good job. It was after we lost to UConn in the BIG EAST tournament our junior year where our coach said it was clear that they were a more physical team. They were bigger than us and that could contribute to why we lost. So that was a main focus.”

Getting bigger as he came into this spring at 6’2, 220 pounds, Franzoni produced a huge year for the Musketeers. The first baseman/outfielder batted .385 with school single-season records in homers (29) and RBIs (78). He was named the BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year and earned American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-America Third Team honors as the Musketeers went 33-27 and advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament.

“I would have never guessed that number, me and my roommate would always joke around throw around numbers that we wanted to shoot for,” said Franzoni. “That was definitely something I didn’t really see or expect. It was definitely rewarding to see a lot of that just pay off in the games. The preparation was definitely there in the fall and in the summer. When you work so hard, you feel good to see stuff like that. It was definitely something cool to reflect on.”

In a harbinger of things to come, Franzoni sacked a lead-off homer in the season opener against Alabama.

“It definitely felt good to start the season like that, I think it set the tone for the year,” said Franzoni.

“It is funny because I don’t usually lead off. That was the only game of the whole season that I led off because our leadoff hitter was out for that game. I had to fill in that spot and my coach (Billy O’Conner) said before the game if you don’t swing first pitch, I am probably never leading you off again. He just wanted me to swing as hard as I could. It was definitely cool to open the season that way to get the team going.”

In one stretch in May, Franzoni homered eight times in nine games.

“I definitely felt like I was in a zone, seeing pitches well,” said Franzoni. “I think we did a really good job, especially in conference. When we played teams multiple times and teams that returned a multitude of guys, we would scout and prepare specifically for their pitchers that we were going to face. We were watching video and stuff like that. That was a huge part of that. There is a different mindset and a different energy that comes with playing in conference games. I think specifically for me and a lot of the other guys on the team, those games are personal. Those games are huge, it affects being in the tournament.”

In the BIG EAST tournament, Franzoni and his teammates exploded for a record-breaking performance as the Musketeers topped Creighton 27-8 to advance to the championship series against UConn.

“That was probably the most crazy baseball game I have ever played in,” said Franzoni, who went 3-for-4 with three homers and 11 RBIs in the win, hitting a pair of grand slams. “Any time we play Creighton, it is usually a close game because they are a great team and are well-coached. It was a shock for some us, putting up so many runs. It seemed like everything was falling. We would have a guy hit a homer and then have a bloop hit and another bloop hit and then someone would smoke one. Everything was falling, it was one of those days.”

The Musketeers ended up falling 7-2 to UConn in the BIG EAST final as its season came to an end.

“It was definitely a pretty emotional loss,” said Franzoni. “They are a good team, we gave them all that we could.”

Although Xavier fell short of its goal of making the NCAA tournament, there were plenty of highlights to savor from this spring.

“After the season came to an end, we had the whole team over for a bonfire and we were reflecting on the season and all of the special moments and memories,” said Franzoni. “Playing college baseball, you create a ton of relationships that can’t be replicated. It was really cool to reflect on that at the end of the season. There are personal accomplishments and team accomplishments, but I think those relationships with the guys on the team outweigh those things. It was just really special this year.”

In reflecting on his special year, Franzoni was proud of what he accomplished.

“It was definitely humbling to see the other people who have won those awards previously and the other people who were all-American this year,” said Franzoni. “To be in the same company as those guys was really cool to see. It is something I am going to be grateful about for years to come.”

This summer, Franzoni is hanging with some fast company, playing for Yarmouth-Dennis in the famed Cape Cod League.

“It is great quality play, the pitching we face every day is pretty darn good,” said Franzoni, who was hitting .216 with two homers and eight RBIs in 15 games. “It is a lot of really talented players. You could be up or down seven runs and they are still running guys out of the bullpen who throw 95. It is another step that can help prepare me and a lot of other players to get better. It is definitely really cool to get to do this.”

With the 2022 MLB draft going on this week, Franzoni is in the mix to be chosen.

“I am eligible for the draft, we will see what happens,” said Franzoni. “I have been getting a little bit of feedback from teams. I would definitely want to play professional baseball. I would be ready to take that step if a team wants to grab me. It would be a really cool experience to play at the next level. This year and years before have definitely prepared me to do stuff.”

If Franzoni doesn’t get picked, he will be ready for one last season at Xavier as he has one more year of eligibility remaining due to the 2020 season being halted by the pandemic.

“We return a lot of guys so we will have another crack at it,” said Franzoni. “The mentality doesn’t change for anyone. We still go out every year trying to win a conference championship. That is the main goal for the entire team.”