Volunteers contribute to Mystic’s success

You've heard of five-tool baseball players? Well, the playoff-bound Mystic Schooners have some five-tool volunteers and interns

Groton — They never play an inning or wear a Mystic Schooners uniform but share some of the same hopes and dreams as the players.

They, too, can ultimately make to the major leagues.

You've heard of five-tool baseball players.

Well, the Mystic Schooners have some five-tool volunteers and interns.

They perform a wide range of duties from running concessions to passing out tickets around town, often showing up for home games hours before the first pitch at 6:05 p.m. and typically staying until past the final out. They also are out in the community spreading the word about the Schooners.

"They spent a lot of time at it," said Don Benoit, who's in charge of the volunteers. "Game day for them starts at noon and we don't get out of here until 10."

The playoff-bound Schooners wouldn't be as successful as they are as a New England Collegiate Baseball League franchise without these behind-the-scenes contributors. The Schooners are preparing to make a run at the championship, opening the first-round series at home Wednesday at Fitch High School.

"It's been a real valuable piece for us," manager Phil Orbe said.

Benoit, a professor at Mitchell College, local businessman, baseball-lover and all-around good guy, resides at the top of the order. He's involved with just about everything related to the Schooners. No job is too small for him. You can sometimes find him selling tickets near the entrance to Fitch.

"He gets everything started at the field and then goes up to the gate," Orbe said. "Behind the scenes, Don has really stabilized things for us and has really worked very hard with his business contacts in the region."

When it comes to lining up interns for the summer, Benoit is armed with a recruiting pitch that's tough to lay off. He has six to eight interns working home games, including Fitch graduate and Mitchell College baseball player Tristan Hurley and Wheeler graduate Kaitlin Morgan, a sports management major at Endicott College with a goal to work in a major league baseball front office someday.

Hurley is nearing the end of his first

“Even the next level up, you do the same things. Somebody has to go get sponsors, somebody has to run a golf tournament and someone has to clean the dugouts.” DON BENOIT, WHO IS IN CHARGE OF VOLUNTEERS FOR THE MYSTIC SCHOONERS

summer with the Schooners.

"One of my professors said that he could hook me up with an internship with the (Connecticut) Tigers," Hurley said. "Don asked me if I wanted to do it here. He gave me a chance and I just really love it because I get to be around baseball almost every day . ... It's just been a great experience."

Hurley performs a variety of duties. He does social media, works concessions, collects 50-50 raffle money during games, helps out with baseball camp and goes to the Groton Public Library for Mystic Schooner Mondays when Schooners play games with children.

It's often far from glamorous work but can be rewarding.

"It gives them experience in the whole aspect of what baseball is," Benoit said. "Even the next level up, you do the same things. Somebody has to go get sponsors, somebody has to run a golf tournament and someone has to clean the dugouts."

All internships are unpaid, so rewards come in other forms like valuable connections and experience that could help lead to a future job.

"I could definitely see myself having a real job like this, being around baseball," Hurley said. "I definitely see my career path going toward baseball."

Former Mystic intern Elizabeth Staub is one success story.

A Tulane University graduate, Staub spends her summers at Groton Long Point. She was an intern for the Schooners in 2013.

Her experience helped her move up in her profession and eventually join the marketing department in the Oakland A's organization. She's the second most famous person with a Groton connection to Oakland after Fitch graduate Jesse Hahn, a pitcher.

Staub has fond memories of her summer with the Schooners. She called it an allhands-on-deck operation.

"You get your hands on everything and figure out what you want to do," said Staub, who threw out the first pitch at Saturday's Mystic game. "It's a great opportunity for these kids.

"It's awesome because you don't have to be in a major city to get that kind of experience, you don't have to intern for the Yankees or Red Sox, you don't have to live in those areas closer to the suburbs, you can do it here at home."

It's a good sign that interns regularly return for a second summer. Mitchell assistant coach Kevin Toro is back, this time in a paid position.

There's no doubt that Benoit will be back again.

"I volunteer my time because I like it," Benoit said. "It's a good organization and a good thing for the community." g.keefe@theday.com