Kyan Bagshaw shows his emotion during the College World Series pitching for Endicott College. (Courtesy photo)

NASHUA – Kyan Bagshaw and his father went out for food one night four years ago, and they were watching the Endicott College baseball team play in a Division III regional.

Bagshaw, the Pitcher of the Year that spring in Division II as a Souhegan senior, was already signed, sealed and delivered for the Beverly, Mass. college.

Little did he know that not only was this type of postseason appearance the norm, it would grow beyond that and he’d be a huge part of it.

You see, Bagshaw’s career at Endicott, which ended just over a week ago, included not one, not two, not three, but four trips to the Division III College World Series.

“It’s become the standard,” he said. “That year they won the regional and hosted the Super Regional and I went to some of those games…It was like ‘Holy cow, I’m going to be part of this next year.’

“And from Day 1, it was going to be ‘Hey, we’re going to get there. We’re going to be there.'”

But four straight times? Unheard of. And this latest trip, the last of his collegiate career, the Gulls came as close as they could to a national title to Denison University of Granville, Ohio in a crushing walk-off Game 3 win, 4-3 in 10 innings, after the Gulls had led 3-0. That came a day after the Gulls had done the same, winning 11-10 in a wild 10 inning game in East Lake, Ohio.

Bagshaw,who was the closer for the Silver Knights the last couple of seasons – his college eligibility is now gone – eventually had the same role with the Gulls. But four consecutive trips? How does that happen?

“I guess you could use this year as an example,” Bagshaw said. “We found a way to be a team. To me that means playing for who’s next to you, no matter who it is.”

When he was recruited, Bagshaw was told that head coach Bryan Haley and his staff felt he could have an immediate impact. He eventually found himself as a reliever at the beginning of his freshman year after fall ball and the spring preseason. “I would have more sink on my fastball and more of a slider mix,” Bagshaw said. “Funkier arm slot, more deception. More of a one inning guy and build off that. It worked.”

Most of the players are from New England and the Northeast. And when they arrive, they might, like Bagshaw, have an ocean view in their dorm room, and the smell of the sea at practice. “Nothing compares to it,” Bagshaw said.

And nothing would compare to the World Series trips. The last three years the event was in the Cleveland suburb of East Lake, Ohio but the Gulls first trip was to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“It was such cool adventure overall,” Bagshaw said of that first trip in 2023, after his freshman season. “The memories. It’s like ‘Holy Cow, we just did this.’ It was the first time we did a lot of things, and I was part of it as a freshman. It was just really cool to be a part of it and say I was a part of it, have the memories that I have.

“But being there for the first time, it was a lot of ‘Wow’ factor. I remember walking into the stadium for the first time, I remember seeing East Texas Baptist (which was there this year, too) and watching their pitcher throw. And was throwing hard. And I remember thinking, ‘Wow, we’re here.’ It was a really cool thing. An elated feeling.”

That year the Gulls were, as the saying goes “two and barbecue”, eliminated right away. But even the trip home was memorable. There was limited room on a private jet.

“We all got magnetic name tags that year,” Bagshaw said. “We put them face down on the desk and we picked, I think it was 23 guys on the 35-man roster that we brought to go home on the private jet. I think I was one of the only freshmen who got to go home on the private jet.”

The others had were placed on commercial flights. “But those memories were so cool,” Bagshaw said. “I’m so grateful.”

The next year, in Ohio, the Gulls had lost only a couple of regular season games, had award-winning players, a Division I caliber outfield, etc. They did get the first-ever World Series game win in school history. That was the first of three Series trips to 6,500-seat Classic Auto Group Park in East Lake, Ohio,home of the Lake County Captains the Cleveland Guardians High Class A affiliate. The crowd with standing room and grass seating could reach 10,000 and is located 15 minutes from downtown Cleveland.

“Nice field, very fun to play in,” Bagshaw said, adding he’s been fortunate enough to pitch in all four Series trips – and he was the winning pitcher in that historic first Series win ever for the Gulls, a walk-off vs. Pomona-Pitzer that kept Endicott alive after losing its opener in the double elimination event. Then they were eliminated.

The next year, 2025, the Gulls won two out of four games in their Series appearance. That was perhaps Bagshaw’s toughest year in baseball, as he was out of rhythm the entire season.

“I was struggling to find the zone,” he said. “I finally looked at the stats. My junior year was really rough. I was a pre-season All-American my junior year after being an All-American my sophomore year. I was definitely thinking about my mechanics too much.”

The ironic thing was when he pitched for the Silver Knights last summer, he had some lights out moments as a closer or late inning lefty reliever.

“Less pressure,” he said. “I played here (at Holman Stadium) so much I felt comfortable. … It took me getting to the summer and just saying, ‘Let it go, whatever happens, happens.'”

And that springboarded Bagshaw into a stellar senior season and another World Series trip with a team in which another former Saber, Drew Reagan, was a freshman on the team. In the fall, coaches had Bagshaw read a book about how to approach improvement mentally, a copulation of essays from philosophers “just talking about life” and his task was to compare it to sports and baseball.

“I wanted to quiet my mind down,” Bagshaw said. “It really had an effect on my baseball, how I was able to approach practice, have more fun.”

He hurt his hamstring in the fall, but was ready to go for the season, a year in which he went 2-2, 2.88 with six saves and 31 strikeouts in 25 innings. That was so far away from the 7.42 ERA-no saves season he had had his junior season.

But the season started off badly when he got hit in the head by ball while playing catch, suffering a concussion. He didn’t start the season until three weeks in, had a rough first outing, and Haley put his arm around him and said, “It’s going to be a great season. Pick your head up, you’ve got this.” Twenty minutes later Bagshaw came to the conclusion, “Let’s have a good season.”

He put the spot chart from that game in his locker as a reminder to flush any tough outings.

Fast forward through the spring to his final World Series.

“This was the most fun season I’ve ever had playing baseball,” Bagshaw said.

The seniors all sat after the final game, the walk-off to Denison. Bagshaw was the winning pitcher in the second game, which was famous for a double out at third base, a play that the Gulls practice. Bagshaw was on the mound at the time.

“The play itself was crazy,” Bagshaw said of the infield play that had the Denison runners confused, especially when the Gulls would yell ‘You’re out, Bro!’ to the runner who actually had the right to the bag, making him step off.

Bagshaw then pitched in the third and deciding game, his last college game ever. The last pitch he threw as Gull was a slider he retired the hitter. Before the game, the coaches went to each pitcher to check on availability “And not a single one said no.”

A tough way to lose in extra innings, and end a college career and a World Series progression that took Bagshaw to the final game and oh, so close to a national championship.

“We played as much baseball as you could,” he said. “The hardest thing about it is I’ll never be as close with a team like that again. It wasn’t the most talented team in Endicott history, but give credit to the heart and the grit and the love we had for the game and each other.

“How we competed was insane. I couldn’t get mad about losing. I could get mad about not being with these guys any longer.’

The irony was there was no private jet this time, but a bus that broke down a couple of times last weekend on the way home. But it was worth it. Every trip the players would get a gift box/swag; his freshman year they gave the Series participants hoodies that he still has. But the idea was to not get too overwhelmed.

“We tried to treat it like it’s this,” he said, pointing to the Holman Stadium field. “Treat it like it’s any other ballgame. But was hard, so hard. But it’s fun. Especially when you get to the final, and Denison, being from Ohio, there were all their fans.”

Bagshaw likened it to pitching for the Silver Knights against the Vermont Lake Monsters up in Burlington. Remember, college players in New England are lucky there’s 50-100 fans at a game until you get to the something like a Super Regional or the World Series.

What’s his favorite memory of the four Series trips?

“Definitely beating Denison on that (Game Two) walk-off,” he said.

Kyan Bagshaw, wearing his Division III College World Series apparel, now ponders his future in baseball. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Because of the postseason, Bagshaw wasn’t able to attend graduation, walk and get his diploma, which is waiting for him. But while the real world may be calling, he’s not ready to hang up the cleats just yet,hoping for a chance in professional baseball.

“I want to keep playing baseball as long as I can, until someone tells me, ‘Hey, never’,” he said. “I want to keep competing.”

The bus fiasco postponed his exit meeting with Haley, which he considers will be his launching point in the search for advice on how to proceed.

After his sophomore year, he was contacted by a couple of Major League organizations – the Guardians and the Nationals – via email. He received them again recently following a career-high four innings of relief in the regionals vs. Wentworth.

“I don’t know what it means,” he said, noting that the emails said he had some tasks (forms) to complete.

“I don’t know what it means, it could mean something, it could mean nothing,” he said, adding he plans to reach out to a couple of Endicott alums who are in the minors right now and say “Hey, what was your process, how did it go for you, and what should I do?”

And that may be to also go to tryout camps “and rip it.” Bagshaw will begin his pursuit, and if nothing happens this summe he’ll continue working out in the off-season with the idea he will play somewhere next spring, even if it’s with an independent league team.

“I’m going to keep playing,” he said. “I’m not discounting anything.”

How could he? You are seeing a player who never in his wildest dreams could have imagined four Division III College World Series trips.

One word to describe it all?

“Inspiring,” Kyan Bagshaw said.