The 1998 Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team was the second Little East Conference (LEC) program in as many years to capture a NCAA Division III National Championship, which was just the second year of the sport’s sponsorship by the Conference.
LEC Hall of Fame head coach Bill Holowaty’s 1998 squad posted an overall record of 40-11 in 1998, tying the then program record for wins in a season as the Warriors laid claim to their third DIII baseball national title.
Eastern Connecticut won the LEC regular season title by one game with a mark of 12-2 in league play, and secured the LEC tournament championship after going 3-0 with victories over sixth-seeded Western Connecticut (5-4), third-seeded UMass Dartmouth (3-2) and fourth-seeded Plymouth State (17-2). A total of eight Warriors earned All-LEC honors, including six First Team selections - Scott Chiasson (RP), George Davis (DH), Jon Gersz (OF), Lance Podlesney (3B), Brian Rivers (P) and Nick Tempesta (SS). Chiasson and Podlesney went on to be named First Team All-America by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).
The Warriors then hosted the six-team NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship, and ran the table to capture their seventh NCAA regional crown. Eastern Connecticut opened the regional with a 3-2 victory over LEC rival and defending NCAA Division III National Champion Southern Maine before defeating Trinity (Conn.), 9-6, and posting back-to-back victories over UMass Dartmouth by scores of 7-2 and 10-3 to secure a seat at the national tournament.
Eastern Connecticut got off to a fast start at the College World Series, opening the tournament with a 9-3 triumph over Wisconsin-Whitewater before defeating Aurora, 4-3, and Montclair State, 11-4, to advance to the Championship Final. The Warriors then routed Montclair State for the second time in as many games, this time by a final of 16-1, to secure the 1998 National Championship.
Chiasson became the first player from that 1998 Warriors’ squad to be inducted into the LEC Hall of Fame with his enshrinement in 2020. Holowaty was inducted into the LEC Hall of Fame in 2016.