For Central Connecticut State’s veteran players, contributing to two Northeast Conference championships and subsequent NCAA tournament runs during their careers has provided confidence and experience for the season ahead.
Of course, every season presents different challenges.
Among the graduates from last year’s 28-15 club were All-NEC outfielders Buddy Dewaine (Uncasville, Conn.) and Dave Matthews (Newtown, Conn.) and starting pitchers Andrew Braun and Brandon Fox (Manchester, Conn.), meaning that there will be plenty of room for new contributors to fill the void in 2022.
“With everything that we went through last year, it was remarkable to win a championship and go out to (NCAAs in) Oregon,” head coach Charlie Hickey (Middletown, Conn.) said of his second straight and seventh-ever conference title win at Central. The Blue Devils defeated Bryant in the deciding tournament game in 2019 and 2021.
