Will of the Warriors
EastConn rolling toward postseason following rough start
MANSFIELD — When the Eastern Connecticut State baseball team won the 2022 Division III national championship, it lost three games the entire season.
Ten days into the 2024 campaign with a club that believed it would contend to regain the title, the Warriors were 1-5. While any long season has its ups and down, Eastern did not want to dig a hole that it would have a hard time getting out of.
“We played some good teams. Shenandoah was the No. 1 team for a couple of weeks,” Eastern shortstop Zach Donahue said Tuesday. “We faced some good arms. Baseball is a game where you can have one guy or one pitcher who just commands and dominates.
“But 1-5 isn’t the standard here at Eastern. We got together and we knew that we needed a change in mindset. We talked, we figured some stuff out. We tried to simplify things — hitting, pitching, fielding. We went on a run and we’re going to keep it rolling.”
The Warriors won 20 in a row before dropping the second game of a doubleheader at Southern Maine April 21. They rebounded April 16 as Nathan Furino tossed a no-hitter in a 6-0 victory over Western Connecticut before dropping both games of a doubleheader to Endicott, the No. 1 ranked team in Division III.
At 23-9 overall and 10-1 in the Little East, tied with UMass Dartmouth for the conference lead with a doubleheader against the Corsairs scheduled for the regular-season finale May 3 in Massachusetts, Eastern — ranked 16th in the ABCA Division III poll — is working its way to where it wants to be come the postseason that begins May 8.
“We’re not finished, we’ve got a lot more in the tank,” Donahue said. “Coach (Mike Odenwaelder) always tells us that we’re a talented team and that we’re a
special team. Once we put it all together we’re going to be tough to beat come the conference tournament and, hopefully, the NCAA Tournament.” Eastern has put it together in all aspects.
The Warriors have five fulltime starters — Ray Lenozi of Trumbull (.358 with an on-base percentage of .488 and a share of the RBI lead with 26), Alejandro Soriano of Hartford and SMSA (.353), Donahue of South Windsor (.320, team-highs of nine doubles, seven home runs, and 26 RBIs), and Josh Cofrancesco (.327) and Ryan Parent (.290) of Southington and St. Paul of Bristol — hitting over .290. Seven others, including Hank Penders of Wethersfield and East Catholic and Jared Clark of Bristol, are also over .500 in more part-time roles.
The team batting average is .313 with an on-base percentage of .391. They average 7.9 runs per game.
Eastern is led on the mound by East Haven’s Furino (4-0, 0.95 ERA) along with Matt Wootton of Milford and Foran High (3-1, 2.98 ERA), Chris Torres of Springfield, Mass. (2-3,
three saves, 3.51 ERA), Dylan Scudder of Simsbury (4-1, 3.41 ERA), and Dan Driscoll of Waterford (3-1, 4.25 ERA). The staff ERA is 3.51 with a batting average against of .247. Their strikeout-to-walk ratio is 3.3-to-1.
“We always believed in ourselves and knew what we’re capable of,” Furino said. “We stayed with our approach. We knew we had a good team and that it would come around for us.”
But according to Odenwaelder, who replaced Brian Hamm after the 2022 championship season when Hamm moved on to become head coach at Yale, his players had to buy in to what the coaches wanted and fill their roles.
They have and look at the results.
“We are very fortunate to have a very deep team,” Odenwaelder said. “But it can create problems sometimes for a coaching staff because you have good pitchers not getting as many innings they feel they should or could, good hitters not getting as many at-bats as they could or should. Guys want to
be out there competing. We need guys to be ready for when their name is called.
“Total buy-in and trust from the team top to bottom, trust in the coaches, trust in each other, and trust their teammates will get the job done helped us turn the corner.”
Donahue appears to be one of those glue players who keeps teams together.
A 2019 graduate of South Windsor High who began his college baseball career at UConn before transferring not only puts up big numbers offensively but is solid defensively and a veteran leader on and off the field.
“We have a very special team,” Donahue said. “I’ve been put in very successful spots because of my teammates. We work hard in practice at different opportunities whether it’s early in the game, late in the games. It’s about trusting what our coaches tell us. I couldn’t do this without my teammates and coaches. Coach puts me wherever and I’m going to do what I can to help my team win.”
Donahue has one year of eligibility remaining and has entered his name into the transfer portal. He could have a model in former Eastern teammate Luke Broadhurst, who started his career at UConn, played three seasons at Eastern and won a national championship, and then returned to UConn for his final two years.
But Donahue is exploring all his options and does have other things on his mind right now so he’s not sure what his future holds.
“Who knows yet?” Donahue said. with a smile. “Right now I’m focused on working towards graduating and helping this team get another banner.” Starting with Saturday’s doubleheader at UMass-Boston, the Warriors have six games remaining in the regular season.
Then the battle with UMass Dartmouth is on with the conference tournament scheduled to start on May 8. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s continuing to stay sharp on the mound, maybe mixing in a wrinkle with guys,” Odenwaelder said. “Guys are always tinkering with mechanics and with stuff on the mound and at the plate. We want to add to the success guys have had and taking the next step. If you’re the same pitcher in Game 40 as you were in Game 1, or you’re the same hitter in Game 40 as you were in Game 1, you’re going struggle. You’re seeing better arms and better defenses later in the season so we need to continue to develop and do what we do well but address whatever weaknesses we have as well.”
Perhaps the best thing the Warriors have going for them are the veterans from the 2022 who know how to win championships.
“It’s huge,” Furino said. “We have a lot of guys with experience and everyone knows what it takes. We need to keep our composure and keep things rolling. We can do that. We know what we’re capable of. We’re a winning program. That’s all we know.”