Fueled by disappointment of a year ago, Bentley baseball prepares for first trip to the Division 2 College World Series

A backdoor slider bounced in front of home plate, careening off the Molloy catcher’s gear.

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Leading off third base, graduate student Stan DeMartinis III took off on the high hop, running home with his hands above his head. He slid into the plate, setting off a celebration 58 years in the making — Bentley University going to the Division 2 College World Series.

Fittingly, he was the first person to hoist the trophy.

It’s been a year of firsts for the Falcons. The program’s first Northeast 10 Conference championship, the first regionals, and the first super regionals appearance.

They bested traditional powerhouse Southern New Hampshire six times, including in the conference championship. They downed Wilmington (Del.) in the East Regional, erasing a 5-0 deficit to win 6-5 in the final. It took DeMartinis’s magic to cap off a three-game thriller to get past Molloy in the Super Regional.

How did a proud program finally fly to new heights?

It started with heartache.

The Falcons, with 33 wins, believed they had a strong case to make the playoffs last year. They’re name wasn’t called during the selection show, leaving the team disconsolate.

Bentley coach Mike Hill taped last season’s regionals bracket in the locker room and dugout throughout the fall and winter, a stark reminder of what could have been.

“You prepare for nine months for a two-and-a-half month experience, so we had to sit on that for nine months,” said graduate student Jared Berardino. “Not making regionals [last year] is the reason we’re here today, in my opinion. So, it ended up being a win for us. We just didn’t really realize it at the time.”

The fourth season under Hill has reached historic heights. The 2024 team captured a then program-record 29 wins, surpassed a year later by four victories. The Falcons have shattered that, taking a 44-15 record into this weekend’s action.

Hill was an assistant for 21 years under Bob DeFelice, who coached Bentley’s first 54 seasons. He also played for the legendary coach from 1994-97 and landed in the school’s Hall of Fame in 2005. He is Bentley’s all-time leader in total bases (387), RBIs (191), and slugging percentage (.763). His brother, Roger, who was a freshman during Hill’s senior campaign, is the school’s all-time hits leader (239). His daughter, Kiley, is a senior at the university.

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The familial environment created lends itself to the field, where the Falcons have outscored their opposition 532-303 this season. The pitching staff has fanned 518 hitters. DeMartinis just broke Hill’s all-time home run record during a season where he slugged 23 long-balls with 77 RBIs and a .325 average. Rowley’s Berardino boasts a .373 average with 19 homers and 59 RBIs. Graduate student Nick Pappas of Roxbury has put together one of the better seasons in program history, with a sterling .399 average, 12 home runs, and 61 RBIs.

And to think that Pappas was almost cut going into his junior season.

Following a successful high school career at Boston Latin, Pappas walked on his freshman season. He didn’t see any playing time for two and a half years. Pappas refused to quit the team or transfer despite the inauspicious start to his college career.

Now a two-year captain and two-time first-team NE10 All-Star, Pappas taught Hill an invaluable lesson: be patient with players.

“There’s been a lot of good baseball players here, so when you break records that have been around for 30, 40, 50 years, it’s pretty special,” said Hill, who shook his head under his sports sunglasses. “Blown away by it.”

“It’s given me a chip on my shoulder that some guys might not have, and I really attribute a lot of my success to that feeling, and knowing that at one time, my name was on the list to get cut,” said Pappas. “Being able to come back, it’s a very special feeling.”

The seventh-seeded Falcons open their quest to win a national title against second-seeded Tampa, the two-time defending champion, on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Cary, N.C.

“We’re not a Cinderella story, we’ve been the No. 1 seed all year,” said DeMartinis. “Obviously, Tampa, the two-time defending national champion, they’re a very, very good baseball team, but so are we. And that’s, I think, the mindset going into it is, you know, if we go and play our game, we can beat anybody, and we’re in the College World Series for a reason.”

The players noted the Shakespearean nature of the season, crossing off boxes that haven’t been checked before. The Falcons have the chance to write the ultimate ending.

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