LYNN — The Bishop Connolly baseball team learned of the school’s upcoming closure at a captains’ practice in early March — just before the season got underway.
Senior captain Connor Travis received a text with the shocking news. When he shared the message with his teammates, most of the group broke into tears.
The Cougars rallied to a 12-7 record, earning the 38th seed in the Division 4 tournament this season, but lost, 5-2, to No. 27 Winthrop Sunday night at Fraser Field in a preliminary-round matchup.
After the final out, Connor and his teammates exchanged hugs by the dugout. Coach Sean Travis huddled the team together, and told his players he was proud of the way they fought through the emotional circumstances of their season.
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“We told these guys to battle hard all year, knowing the school is closing. It just wasn’t in the cards,” Sean Travis said. “We were in the process of actually building a program, and then the dioceses decided to close the school.”
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, in Winthrop, but the Vikings’ field was unplayable because of wet weather. Bishop Connolly made the trip up from Fall River before returning home when the contest was canceled — and then traveled north to Lynn again on Sunday.
Winthrop ace Zach Bogusz led the Vikings (9-12), pitching 5⅓ innings and recording the win.
“Zach Bogusz has been nails for us our year, and I’m very proud of the performance that he came out and put out there,” Winthrop coach Mark DeGregorio said. “We feel really good. It’s not easy to win baseball games.”
Winthrop will take on No. 6 Uxbridge (14-6) in the Round of 32.