Connor Podeszwa started laughing when he learned Tufts’ postseason destination on Monday.

A Waterford High School graduate, Podeszwa didn’t expect to make his NCAA Division III baseball tournament debut so close to home and at a familiar field — Mitchell College in New London.

“My immediate reaction was, I started laughing because I’ve played like hundreds of games on Mitchell’s field,” Podeszwa said Wednesday. “I played a lot of travel games there. My travel team practiced there a ton.

“So, I’m pretty familiar with the field.”

And Podeszwa is certainly familiar with the area. He received his baseball education on the Little League, Babe Ruth and high school fields in Waterford.

A sophomore, Podeszwa will have his own fan club of family and friends in attendance on Friday when Tufts (31-9) faces first-time host Mitchell (31-8) at 1:30 p.m. on the opening day of the regional at Alumni Field.

“This will be the first time a lot of my family will see me play (in college),” Podeszwa said. “Tufts is a little trip from Waterford. This will be big for my family getting to see me. … This is huge for baseball in southeastern Connecticut. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of people in attendance that I know. It should be a great atmosphere.”

As an added bonus, Podeszwa’s father Chris will be on hand for only the second time this season.

Chris, who juggles a full-time job as a special education teacher at Montville High School and volunteer assistant position on Jim Penders’ staff at UConn, remained home when the Huskies left on a three-game road trip that started Thursday at Creighton.

“You’ll probably see him hiding behind the center field fence somewhere,” Connor said. “He knows better than to be behind the backstop. He’ll distance himself. He’ll be out there with his own thoughts.”

The younger Podeszwa, a key member of a talented Tufts pitching staff, will likely start sometime this weekend, or maybe be called in for a relief appearance depending on the situation.

Outside of the normal jitters, he feels comfortable in the spotlight.

“I’ve been in these situations all my life,” Podeszwa said. “Back in Little League, we made a run and I pitched in the state championship and pitched in the Eastern Regional. In Babe Ruth, I pitched in the World Series. Then, through high school, I pitched in state tournament games. I played on some really good teams growing up and they’ve put me in the position to be successful in those moments.”

A 6-foot-1, 190-pound righthander, Podeszwa has put together an impressive season, leading the team in wins with six, starts with 10 and innings with 57. He owns a 6-3 record with a 3.79 earned run average, striking out 53 and walking 24.

After a bumpy start to the season, he’s settled into a groove, giving up 20 hits and six runs in his last six appearances covering 27.2 innings.

In one of his best starts, Podeszwa helped Tufts capture the New England Small College Athletic Conference tournament final on Sunday by going a career-high 8.2 innings. He allowed one run and five hits while striking out seven and walking two in a 12-1 victory over Middlebury.

He’s made a significant leap since his freshman season.

“I got a little bit bigger and stronger and I’m throwing a little bit harder,” Podeszwa said. “As you get older, you get a little bit more mentally mature, you know your body better and know what you can do and can’t do. And pitching to your strengths is huge. I’ve learned a lot about myself over the last year.”

As the No. 2 seed, Tufts is one of the favorites to advance along with top-seeded Wheaton, which plays No. 4 Husson in Friday’s regional opener.

Podeszwa has faith that his team will make a deep run in the tournament.

“This is one of the most closely knit groups that I’ve ever played on,” he said. “We all love each other. We all want to keep playing. We’re going to play for each other. We have that never say die attitude. We’re going to play until the last out. And we’re going to make it tough on the other team.”

If Podeszwa ends up pitching against Mitchell, he’ll face a number of former Eastern Connecticut Conference opponents. He also played with Dougie DelaCruz (Montville) and Bo Yaworski (Killingly) on the Norwich Sea Unicorns, a member of the Futures League, last summer.

“I know a lot of them,” Podeszwa said. “I love Dougie and I love Bo. I’m looking forward to getting to play them.”

Mitchell coach Travis Beausoleil has known the Podeszwa family for years. He was a member of the UConn baseball staff in 2011.

“When I coached at UConn, coach Podeszwa was there and Connor was an unathletic 12-year old,” Beausoleil said. “Now, look at him. He’s turned into one of the best D-III players in the country. He’s having a stellar year. He’s awesome. I love that kid.”

g.keefe@theday.com