Dennis Sweeney announced Monday he is stepping down as Law baseball coach after nine seasons.

“I felt it was the right time,” Sweeney said. “My son is 11 and I want to teach him the game of baseball like I’ve been doing for the past nine years. I was coaching since before he was born. I put my heart and soul into it and I want my son to have that as well.”

Sweeney, 40, has guided the Lawmen to plenty of success. He leaves Law with a 137-73 record. Under Sweeney, Law won five division titles, two league titles and the 2008 Class L state title.

Law posted an 18-7 mark and reached the Class L quarterfinals this season, following its third straight Southern Connecticut Conference Hammonasset Division title. Also, 21 of Sweeney’s former players have went on to play in college.

“The parents, players and umpires have been great,” said Sweeney, who teaches health at Law. “It’s been the best nine years of my baseball experience. It’s something you dream about.”

Check out these impressive numbers...
Law senior Brett Michael Doran finishes his career with 101 hits (only played three years of varsity baseball) and hit .532 this season.
Doran's batting average this season breaks Steve Hine's city of Milford 18-year-old, single-season record. Hine batted .519

Law put the finishing touches on its second straight run to a SCC Hammonasset Division title Saturday with a win over Hillhouse.


Since losing to Guilford in the 2008 regular season, the Lawmen are 18-0 against divisional opponents.

It's no secret. Law has Foran's number.

The Lawmen blanked their city rival 2-0 Wednesday, sweeping the season series against the Lions. It's also worth noting, Law beat Foran ace Brian Ward in both games.

And it was Foran, which Law beat to win the Southern Connecticut Conference title last season.

Furthermore, Law has beat Foran in the last six meetings. The last time the Lions came out on top was in April 2008 in a 3-1 win.

For a team that won a Southern Connecticut Conference title last year and a state championship the season before, losing three of its first four games was cause for concern for the Law baseball team.

“There was some panic at 1-3 with the schedule we have,” Law coach Dennis Sweeney said. “We were just hoping for a win here and there.”

But that panic turned into a sense of urgency, and the urgency led to wins. Six straight victories before the run ended Friday with a 5-4 eight-inning loss to Shelton.

Sweeney said the turning point came with a 2-1 win against town rival Foran on April 19, the second victory during the winning streak.

Law managed to pull out the win despite going up against Lions ace Brian Ward, one of the top pitchers in the SCC, if not the state. Sweeney called Law pitcher Brett Michael Doran’s outing a “gusty performance.”

“He didn’t have his curveball or his fastball,” Sweeney said of Doran. “He just battled and battled and made pitches when he had to.”

Doran also went 2-for-3 and Buddy Bajerski went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Sweeney has also made a defensive adjustment, which proved to be critical. Chris Peloso moved from shortstop to center field and Josh Rouse shifted from third base to shortstop, improving the middle.

Sophomores Joe Bannon, Matt Ferraiolo and Sean Cameron have established themselves as solid players for the Lawmen, too.

Law outscored its opponents by 44 runs during its winning streak, but the very tough schedule lightened up during that stretch.

Now, it gets tougher again.

“We were better than we were playing,” Sweeney said. “I think we’ve turned the corner. I expect us to play better. It will be interesting to see how it pans out with our schedule.”