Player of the Year stories often read similarly: happy recaps of successful seasons, woven with the intermittent anecdote and some snazzy stats.

Rare is the occasion, though, that a high school kid who earns such an honor gets asked, “so how did you cope with it all?”

Welcome to the unique story of Matt Spang, The Day’s 2016 All-Area Baseball Player of the Year. Spang, was the central artery of East Lyme High School’s run to the state championship game, parlaying a productive year of offense with six wins pitching.

Except that it was Spang who found himself pitching in the season’s last game, one strike away from delivering the first baseball title to the People’s Republic of East Lyme since 1989.

Spang hit a batter with the bases loaded to force in the tying run. He made a throwing error a little later.

Cruel twists. And no championship.

“Honestly,” Spang was saying recently, “I’ve thought about all our great accomplishments this season, but I’ve avoided dwelling on the last two innings of our season. I haven’t replayed them. It was an awful night. But I got so much support from my teammates, coaches and people in town that I actually went to bed that night with a smile on my face, knowing how much they all cared.”

Know this about Spang’s reference to the Vikings’ accomplishments: There were many. After an 0-4 start, they won 16 straight (including wins over Montville and Waterford), the Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division title and made the Class L finals for the second straight year.

Spang had 33 hits, 14 for extra bases. He scored 33 runs, walked 14 times and stole six bases without being caught. He went 6-2 as a pitcher with a 1.75 earned run average and 60 strikeouts.

Spang also mastered the concept of “when.” He homered off Waterford’s Mike Burrows in the regular season’s biggest and most entertaining game, a 10-6 victory for East Lyme. He won two games pitching in the state tournament and during a stretch from his first at-bat in the state semifinals through his first at-bat in the championship game, reached base six straight times with five hits.

Spang was also awarded the Sportsmanship Award from the Eastern Board umpires.

“It’s hard to put into words what he’s meant to us,” East Lyme coach Jack Biggs said. “He’s been with the varsity since he was a freshman. The heart and soul of our team.”

A team that certainly belongs in the conversation with perennials Waterford and Montville now in the ECC.

“We didn’t go into those games against Waterford and Montville, thinking ‘oh, no, it’s Waterford and Montville,’” Spang said. “We wanted some of that. They’re good teams, don’t get me wrong. But we wanted to prove we were, too. And we did.”

Spang is headed to UConn Avery Point, a program with rich baseball tradition. Yet he’s decided not to play, preferring to focus on a potential career in occupational therapy.

“I love baseball,” he said. “But I put so much stress and so many expectations on myself that it’s just not worth it to me anymore. I’d rather concentrate on something other than baseball for once.”

m.dimauro@theday.com

The Day's 2016 All-Area Baseball Team

Player of the Year - Matt Spang (East Lyme)

Infield - TT Bowens (Montville), Tommy McDonald (Montville), Mike Rocchetti (Waterford), Jeremy Sagun (Montville)

Outfield - Matt Abbey (East Lyme), Andy Grant (NFA), Alex Tryon (East Lyme)

Pitcher - Mike Burrows (Waterford), Dylan Feeney (East Lyme)

Catcher - Justin Keating (Waterford)

Designated hitter - Alex Petchark (Waterford)

Utility - Kevin Johnson (Waterford), Jeremy Santos (New London)