Avon Old Farms coach Rob Dowling was worried that he'd see some finger-pointing after his team's 1-3 start to the season.
What he saw instead was his team rattle off wins in 15 of the next 16 games on its way to a Founders League Tournament championship. It marks the 17th Colonial or Founders League championship since Dowling joined the AOF staff in 1996.
"That's our legacy for the 2023 Avon Old Farms season," Dowling said. "They didn't get discouraged. A lot of times, when things don't go well, there's finger-pointing and frustration. That negativity affects the group. We were immune to that. I'll never forget that. The '23 team occupies a special place in our program's history."
Avon Old Farms (16-4) clinched the Founders League title on Wednesday with a 2-1 victory at top-seeded defending champion Loomis Chaffee. Tyler Longoria (St. John's commit) and Michael Pelletier (UMass Dartmouth commit) combined to throw seven shutout innings before Grady Golier (Lehigh commit) escaped a high-wire act in the ninth to preserve the victory.
