NASHUA – A year ago, it was a celebration not usually seen on the campus of Daniel Webster College.

The baseball diamond on the hill, Harvey Woods Field, never looked better. The sun was shining bright as Eagles baseball coach J.P. Pyne shook hands with all of his players, just before the trophy presentation.

The program had finally arrived. It had just captured its first outright New England Collegiate Conference championship; with it came a first-ever NCAA Division III tournament appearance.

Now, the question is, with the Eagles capturing the regular season NECC crown and top seed in the conference tournament that begins on Friday at Woods Field, can they repeat their success?

An all-time school best 24-9 record, 15-3 in the conference, suggests they can.

“I think it starts with having such a large group of seniors,” Pyne said. “We have 12. When you have guys like that, they’ve been through it all.”

And the key to the program, Pyne says, is always look to the next moment, not the next milestone.

“If we’re focused on the next pitch, the next at-bat, we’re a pretty good baseball team,” Pyne said. “When we start thinking long term, what if this happens, what if that happens, then we’re not a very good team. They’re good about putting the blinders on and thinking about all of that.”

To be sure, last year was a great experience, but you can bet the Eagles are hungry to get back to the NCAAs and win a tourney game this time. The competition for the NECC title in this double elimination event (finals Sunday at 11 a.m.) won’t be easy, because the Eagles open up against Becker University Friday at 11 a.m., a team they swept in Florida to open the season but has always given them problems. Add to that the No. 2 seed is Mitchell College, which also finished 15-3 but lost out on the top spot on a season-series tiebreaker, and the challenge is immediate. Which is why Pyne wants his players thinking short-term.

“We were fortunate to take two of three from them,” he said of Mitchell. “They’re a solid, young team and kind of a bit reminiscent of us back in 2010 (when the Eagles were also NECC regular season champs). They’re young, not intimidated by anything. And against Becker, we won three very close games (by total of five runs) and they gave us all we could handle.”

But that’s what the Eagles the last few years under Pyne have done, with a mix of local and regional players, with 16 from New Hampshire. Pyne has found some diamonds in the rough, or the woods, such as Hudson’s Kyle Brigham, a sophomore third baseman who was hitting .374 with 12 extra base hits and a team high 24 RBIs. That left side of the infield is superb, because senior Rich Lizotte is a .355-hitting shortstop and both have been defensive stalwarts. ‘Brigham is getting pitched pretty tough,” Pyne said. “But he’s playing some amazing third base. He and Lizotte are two real catalysts.”

Stratham’s Greg Dubela has had a fantastic senior season on the mound with a 7-0, 1.25 mark. The comebacks of pitchers Syed Ali and Ariel Ramos, a combined 7-3, have already been well documented.

Pyne has built a program with depth. He has a roster of 31, and his team beat Plymouth State this year in a non-conference but key in-state, regional game. Years ago that would never have happened.

Could the Eagles possibly make the NCAAs if they don’t win the NECC tourney? Very, very unlikely. The NECC is a relatively new conference, and not rated that highly.

“I’m on that (selection) committee,” Pyne said. “We’ve talked about 27 teams (around New England and the northeast). And Daniel Webster is not one of them.

“We know where we are. There’s only eight at-large berths in the country, and yes, New England has produced some of them. But our mentality is its always the most important thing to win that conference tournament.

“And the best part about finishing first in the regular season is we get to play it here, right on campus.”

But all these wins, all this pressure to achieve is great for the program, Pyne said.

“It’s important,” he said. “It’s important for the younger players. They see that it’s easier to make a big commitment when you get rewarded. It makes it all worthwhile.

“I’m proud of this team, proud of the group of seniors that have stuck together.”

And Pyne hopes they get to stay together through the middle of May.

Newsletter