New London — There’s an atmosphere of one, big, happy family inside the Mitchell College softball program.

Junior Jenna Bennett sees it every day.

“The connection we have has just been amazing,” Bennett said before practice on Wednesday. “We grow each and every year. We have no problems with each other. We’re a big family.

“And I think that connection just makes us a better team.”

The results back it up.

The Mariners have their highest victory total (23) as a Division III program and they’ll finish with a winning overall record for the first time in eight years. They’ve also posted their most New England Collegiate Conference wins (nine) since 2018.

They’re heading into the NECC tournament as a serious title contender for the first time under Erin Miller, who’s in her fourth season as head coach. A No. 2 seed, they’ll play No. 3 New England College at 4:30 p.m. Friday in first-round action at Griswold Park in Revere, Massachusetts.

Miller, a Waterford native and former Eastern Connecticut State University standout, is the driving force behind the Mariners’ success. She points to the team’s chemistry as a key ingredient.

“They care so much about each other,” Miller said. “We talked about that a lot at the beginning of the season, the environment that they’ve created. They all just genuinely want each other to succeed. And they’re all friends outside of softball. And it just makes for a unique atmosphere.”

Miller has forged a strong bond with her players while gradually rebuilding the program after taking charge for the abbreviated 2020 season.

Part of Miller’s first recruiting class at Mitchell, Bennett appreciates that her coach cares about them on and off the field.

“Having that connection really gives her a good idea of who we are and that connection is amazing,” Bennett said. “I can go into her office and just sit for hours and just talk to her.”

Miller says the members of the junior class have helped elevate the program and set the tone for their teammates. She’s done her part by building depth and adding talent.

“They’ve been with me from the beginning,” Miller said. “They definitely took a chance on me and my vision for the program. Starting off, we had some rough points and we’re still definitely getting through it.

“But, the growth that we’ve seen in the last three years has been huge.”

The Mariners went from 8-17 overall in 2021 to 19-21 in 2022 and now they stand at 23-17.

An early sign this season that they could make another leap forward came at the beginning of the season.

They opened with a strong showing during their spring trip to Florida, going 7-3. In a revealing performance, they showed their competitive grit by holding off Brockport in a 5-4 win on March 12.

“We’ve been learning how to win,” Miller said. “This program hasn’t always won and it’s hard to set that standard. We were ahead and we ended up switching up our pitchers to save the lead and ended up getting the win. It was just a huge day of all-around team effort.”

They just kept building from there while playing a competitive nonconference schedule.

Mitchell resided alone in first place entering the final day of the regular season on Saturday. But the Mariners finished tied with Eastern Nazarene at 9-3 after losing a doubleheader to the Lions, who earned the top seed in the NECC tourney and the right to host.

The loss still stings but also serves as motivation for the Mariners.

Eastern Nazarene, which won three of four regular season meetings, is Mitchell’s biggest roadblock this weekend.

Miller met with Bennett and fellow team captain Madison Nicynski on Monday to reset the team’s mindset for the week ahead.

“We kind of regrouped,” Miller said. “We all need to be still on the same page and use that as motivation. They may have won those two games (Saturday) but we’re still capable of beating them. … I’m definitely motivated and ready to go this weekend. I want to come up big.”

Bennett is also ready.

“We’re coming back fighting this weekend,” Bennett said.

Mitchell has a chance to make more program history this weekend. The Mariners are in search of their first NECC tournament championship and automatic NCAA bid that comes with it.

“This team has been really special and we’ve done a lot,” Miller said. “And we’ve made history within this program. … But we have a bigger goal.”

g.keefe@theday.com