LLC Flamethrower Declan Francis talks about his journey to LCC and what it’s like to be in the baseball program.
By Sequoia Hall
As Lane Community College’s baseball season nears the playoffs, the team’s push has been aided by the dual-threat pitching and hitting star Declan Francis.
Francis is a right-handed pitcher who has come out of the bullpen and started games. He is also the team’s designated hitter. He has been shut down on the mound this year with a team-leading 1.19 ERA (earned run average) over 30.1 innings pitched while touching 92 with his fastball. His three home runs also led the team, and he is third in runs batted in with 16 (check out Francis’s baseball stats on the Lane Titans website).
Francis came to LCC as a sophomore, transferring from Linfield University. When asked about the move, Francis said, “it was about betting on myself and believing in myself.” His goals in baseball are to progress through the ranks until he is in the MLB team. “Playing pro baseball has always been my dream since I was a kid,” Francis said on how far he would like to go with baseball. He has not gotten to this place without hard work and being raised the right way.
He grew up in Lake Oswego. At 6 years old, Francis started playing Little League baseball. He’s also played football and basketball, but before high school, he narrowed it down to just baseball.
When asked who helped the most through sports, Francis says, “My dad supported me through the ups and downs, sticking with me, I’m really grateful.”
In 7th grade, Francis joined a club team, and he said, “ Those kids I grew up playing with were probably the biggest inspiration and motivator I had for specifically baseball.” He stopped playing for the club team when his high school career ended. He had attended Lake Oswego High School, the toughest high school division in Oregon.
Facing really good pitching and hitting helped the big righty prepare for the challenges of college ball. After his freshman season at Linfield, he transferred to LCC early on. He was dealing with a shoulder impingement, but he has healed it up and says that he is feeling “really good.”
Francis had nothing but good things to say about his new coach, Josh Blunt, “definitely the smartest coach I have ever had.”
Since moving from Linfield, Francis has seen his pitching style change. He used to throw over the top with a curveball as his takeout pitch, but now he is at a lower three-quarters angle. This gives more movement to the fastball and turns his curve into a sweeping slider. Along with a physical change on the mound, Francis talks a lot about the mental side of the game, and their assistant coach Henry Lovekamp has helped him with this.
Naturally, having to transfer comes with a “feeling out of place” period, but Francis feels like he’s embraced the culture. “Didn’t take long to get acclimated, we all have the same goals and interests.” When Francis is not doing everything he can to get to the next level of baseball, he is working on schoolwork or hanging out with his baseball buddies.
When talking about what is expected of LLC players, Francis said, “Blunt trusts that you want it, you have to love the game, and work hard, and he will get you where you need to be.”
When Francis is pitching, he has different mentalities based on what he is asked to do. When coming out of the bullpen for a short appearance, he is attacking, he’s going to strike you out, you can’t stop it. When starting a game, he is more conservative because he has to stay in the game longer, so he takes a more measured approach and is always communicating with his catcher.
Every time he is out there, he works to help the team in every way possible. Having one of the smallest rosters in the Northwest Accreditation Commission, LCC players have to be positionally flexible; there is no difference with Francis. After two pitchers went down with injury this spring and two quit in the fall, their staff has had to pick up the workload. With this, the rotation has been doing great with standouts like Francis and freshman righty Lucus Green, who has pitched 53.2 innings to a 2.52 ERA.
The current team is 19-16 with 8 games remaining and vying for a playoff spot. They want to secure the second seed so they get home-field advantage and don’t have to play as many games to get to their ultimate goal of a championship. Declan is hopeful for the playoffs and thinks LCC baseball can make a serious run, backed by good pitching and determined hitting.
The season has finished with Lane falling short of the playoffs. Francis finished with 4 wins and 2 losses with a 2.41 ERA, he also hit .250 while smacking 4 home runs. Lane will be back at it next year without Francis, as his goal is to move on to a 4-year college. Lane will have a brand new field and some brand new faces. See their website for more information.
Credit: Lane athletic website baseball roster
