A significant part of UConn Avery Point baseball coach Ian Ratchford’s life in the game has been spent around the Danbury Westerners, his hometown New England Collegiate Baseball League team.

Growing up, he attended games as a fan.

His father, Shaun, once coached the collegiate wooden bat league team.

Ratchford played for the Westerners in 2012.

He also served as an assistant coach for two summers before taking over as manager for this season.

So, leading Danbury to its first NECBL championship in its franchise’s 26-year history on Thursday meant a great deal to Ratchford.

“It was cool for me,” Ratchford said. “I’ve always had a tie to the organization. That’s why (Thursday) night was pretty special. We have a couple people who started the Westerners that aren’t with us anymore.

“We are one of the founding members of the league. To win the first one and to be a part of it and to do it for my hometown and have the guys bring it back to Danbury, that was special. Our pitching coach here was my best friend growing up, too. It was a very cool experience. Our volunteers, our board and everybody, they’ve been great. They’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

Ratchford, who played at Avery Point, too, before being named the program's head coach in May, 2019, talked about the championship season on Friday just before attending a title celebration at Rogers Park in Danbury.

Danbury completed the sweep of the best-of-the-three championship series on the road Thursday against the North Shore Navigators with an 8-4 victory in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Ratchford didn’t worry when the Westerners trailed 3-0 early on. Danbury rallied and took the lead for good with a five-run third inning.

“I was honestly pretty relaxed and had a good feeling,” Ratchford said. “I didn’t panic at any point. Our guys just played really well.”

It was a magical run for the Westerners, who finished fourth in a tight Southern Division at 23-19 before going 7-1 in the postseason.

On the way to the title, Danbury upset top-seeded Martha’s Vineyard, the Southern Division regular-season champ.

Danbury managed to keep the heart of its roster together, not an easy task.

“The guys bought in and got comfortable with each other and were able to play loose and keep the same attitude from regular season into the playoffs,” Ratchford said. “I thought we had a good chance, especially with our lineup. We knew we could beat anybody on any given day as long as our pitching stepped up.

“There was a stretch where we won seven out of nine, I think, so I knew we had it in us. As long as we got into the playoffs, I knew we would be a dangerous team.”

Danbury emerged as the champion from the fiercely competitive 14-team league that features some terrific Division I college talent.

It was a rewarding and exhausting few months for Ratchford, his coaches, players and support staff. Months before opening day, Ratchford spent countless hours recruiting a roster and preparing for the summer while juggling the demands of his UConn Avery Point job.

A long summer season that started on June 3 ended with Danbury raising the trophy on Thursday.

“It was great to win the last game of the summer, that always helps,” Ratchford said. “It’s a great league. There’s a lot of talent. … It is tiring and it was grueling and it was worth it before that but (Thursday) night made it especially worth it. It’s a great group of people and these kids were phenomenal this summer.”

Fortunately for Ratchford, he didn’t regularly have to make the long commute from his home in Groton. He did get to sleep in his own bed when Danbury traveled to play the Mystic Schooners at Fitch High School.

On game nights, he either stayed with his parents who still live in the Danbury area or crashed on the couch at his best friend’s house, pitching coach Dean White.

“I’m away all year in Groton so it’s nice to come back for a few months and be back in the community here where I grew up,” Ratchford said.

Ratchford has a much-needed break before the start of fall baseball season at Avery Point, Sept. 7.

He prefers not to have too much down time.

He’s looking forward to being back on the field again with the Pointers.

“We have a good fall schedule so far,” Ratchford said. “Really excited about the recruits that we’ve got coming in. Have some local guys and some guys from all over the state that are very, very talented. We have a couple of kids that were on state championship teams and two pitchers of the year coming in. Have our left side of the infield coming back.

“So, I’ll take a couple days to recharge and then try to get going on the recruiting class for the upcoming seniors. Can’t wait to get after it and get back on campus at the Point.”

g.keefe@theday.com