Wicked Local: Hudson's Wardwells Reunited on the Diamond at Framingham State

By: Lenny Megliola

They're twins, separated by two minutes at birth, but more recently, by two years on the baseball field.

Jake and Ryan Wardwell, former Hudson High star athletes, decided to take their games to Framingham State University. They would play football and baseball, side by side, four years.

Nice.

Except it didn't quite go that way.

After Ryan's freshman year of football for the Rams, in which he also played first base in the spring, injuries to his shoulder and ankle slowed him down to the point where he just had to stop playing both sports.

Ryan particularly missed baseball. Sure, he went to all the games, but he was a spectator now. Two straight seasons.

"It was tough not playing," he said.

There should be two Wardwells in the lineup. Ryan was determined to come back. Whenever you're ready, coach Mike Gedman told him.

Last spring the Rams were playing in Florida. Ryan was there, with his family. He was in the stands, aching to be in the lineup. One day he'd made his decision.

"I told Coach Gedman 'I'm going to play next year.'"

Gedman's response: "It's about time!"

He couldn't have been more pleased.

The Wardwells are seniors now, although Ryan has been granted an extra year of eligibility because of time missed to injuries. He intends to play baseball next season. "They're two of the hardest-working kids I've coached," said Gedman, in his third year at Framingham State.

Two years away from the game affected Ryan's swing and timing. He needed some live at-bats. He got them last summer. After a slow start playing in the Central College Baseball League, it all began to come back.

Ryan also came back to a new position at FSU: catcher.

The Rams' starting catcher was ineligible, and Ryan had caught a little in high school. He volunteered for the job. Gedman's dad, ex-Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman, worked one day with Ryan, an intense tutorial that helped Ryan immensely.

"He taught me a lot that I hadn't even thought about," said Ryan

When Ryan isn't behind the plate, he's the designated hitter.

Jake, an outfielder, missed the early part of the season with an ankle injury, but is back in his leadoff spot now.

"Jake's an all-around good player," said Gedman. "He's a positive, high-energy guy. He's very consistent. Pencil him in the lineup and you know what you're going to get out of him."

Gedman scheduled a difficult 10-game Florida schedule to start the season. For instance, Wisconsin-Whitewater, which won the Division III national title two years ago. Gedman figured games like that would toughen up the Rams, who lost a lot of key players from the squad that won a school-record 27 games in 2015. The Rams began this week 3-7 and are now 3-9 after losses to Southern Maine and Salve Regina. But Gedman is far from discouraged.

"If you had told me we'd be 3-7 with that schedule I would've been happy," he said before the two most recent losses.

There is optimism at Framingham State, which starts MASCAC play on Saturday against Fitchburg State. Having the Wardwells healthy makes the Rams deeper and better. The twins are co-captains.

Not surprisingly, the twins endured a sibling rivalry. Ryan still lords it over Jake that he's two minutes older.

"We get on each other all the time," said Ryan. "We always want to be the better one."

They're admittedly cutthroat video game opponents.

But naturally they're close too.

"We always played together growing up," said Ryan, which carried over to their high school days. The twins helped the Hawks to peaks of success: two Super Bowls and deep runs in the postseason with the high school and Legion baseball teams.

It was in one of the Super Bowls at Worcester State — a loss to Auburn — that FSU football coach Tom Kelley was impressed with Jake, who wound up a slot receiver for the Rams. But like his brother, Jake just played one year of college football.

It was rather odd the way Jake picked FSU, when a lot of kids he knew headed for Worcester State.

"My parents and I were heading to the Natick Mall, and from Route 9 we saw where Framingham State was," he said. "We checked out the campus. I'm from a small town, and I liked that the campus was small."

He was sold.

Both Wardwells belted homers in the opening game this season against Rowan (N.J.) University.

"Ryan beat me — he hit his in the first inning," said Jake

.A grinning Gedman took note of the long ball. The Wardwells were back, and healthy.