With the 2023 season underway for the Hofstra University baseball team, many fans awaited what this team will bring to the table after last year’s historic season. Nobody predicted that Hofstra would have such a dramatic turnaround in 2022. According to preseason rankings, they were in the middle of the pack in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). However, they finished with a 30-23 overall record and won the CAA Championship for the first time in program history.
Among many contributors, there was one player the team relied on in almost every big situation: Michael O’Hanlon. Coming out of the bullpen as the closing pitcher for the Pride with a 4.74 ERA in 2022, O’Hanlon reflected on how he remembers that 2022 season.
“It was magical,” O’Hanlon said. “We ranked ninth in the conference, and we had a little bit of an edge to us, and we didn’t let anybody stop us. We just did what we had to do, and it ended up being an awesome season.”
However, during that time, O’Hanlon was used out of the bullpen incredibly often, with 43.2 innings pitched. Pitching coach Chris Rojas explained the reasoning for that choice throughout the season.
“He’s a kid who, last year, we leaned on a lot and was tremendous for us early and middle part of the season,” Rojas said. “He’s not scared of the moment, and he thrives in those scenarios, so he should be one of the back-end guys.”
O’Hanlon saw it as an opportunity to showcase himself and give the team his all when they needed him in those tough situations.
“At that point, I was doing anything to win,” O’Hanlon said. “If they needed me, I would go out there and give it my all. I didn’t care if my arm fell off, and we didn’t have as much depth as we have this year, so I was ready when they called me. I was just happy to pitch, and I’m glad I pitched as much as I did.”
From Glendale, New York, O’Hanlon was part of the graduating class of 2020 from Xaverian High School in Brooklyn. He proclaimed himself a reliever of the year in 2019 with a sixth ERA ranking and the leader in saves. From there, he committed to his freshman year at Hofstra, getting his first appearance against the Northeastern University Huskies on April 9, 2021, with 3.0 innings pitched allowing two hits and one walk while securing two strikeouts. He then made seven more appearances out of the bullpen, establishing a 3.18 ERA in his first season of play with potential going into the next season.
The 2022 season propelled O’Hanlon into being one of the most reliable pitchers in the bullpen for the Pride. That reliability showcased the emotion O’Hanlon delivers whenever he is put into close-out games.
“I feel it’s been in me my whole life,” O’Hanlon explained. “My mom, she has a very strong personality, so I get that from her. And I just have a belief in what I can do, and they brought me here for a reason to close down games. That’s been my mindset ever since I stepped on campus, so I try to be the best version of myself and give the team everything I got.”
With the ultimate demise of the Pride in the NCAA tournament against the University of Georgia Bulldogs on June 4, 2022, by a score of 24-1. O’Hanlon entered the 2023 campaign having been named on the 2023 Preseason All-CAA Baseball Team, with the team also being looked at highly with a predicted third-place finish in the conference. Above all else, this solidified him as one of the leaders for Hofstra.
However, with his overuse in the previous season, O’Hanlon has gotten a slow start, which most would not have anticipated.
“He’s gotten better since last season in terms of understanding how to control his emotions,” Rojas said. “He runs high on emotion, and sometimes that can be a detriment to him. So he’s taken a step toward maturity. But we also wanted to be careful with his workload and stay away from any arm issues. He’s had a slow start to the year where he had a tough first outing, but after that, he’s done well.”
With only seven appearances to his name so far this season, O’Hanlon has tried to give his team a fighting chance despite a sluggish start to the year. The Pride stands in ninth place in the conference with an 8-15 overall record. Despite a hit-and-miss season, O’Hanlon is one of the most stable parts of the team.
Supporting a 2.89 ERA in those seven appearances, O’Hanlon has established his stance as one of the pitchers to go to in tough moments. In his most recent outings, O’Hanlon has closed out a 4-3 win over the College of William & Mary Tribe on Sunday, March 19, and a 4-2 win against the No. 24-ranked West Virginia University Mountaineers on Tuesday, March 21.
With the Pride leading in the bottom of the ninth inning, they looked to O’Hanlon to close out the game and get the save. With a quick strikeout to catcher Logan Suave, O’Hanlon fell behind to walk outfielder Landon Wallace to leave a man on base. He then bounced back to strike out outfielder Kevin Dowell for his second batter of the inning.
A go-ahead double by Braden Barry to center field left two men on base with two outs and an intentional walk for JJ Wetherholt left the bases loaded. O’Hanlon put himself deep into a 3-2 count against Dayne Leonard. With the pitch, O’Hanlon struck out Leonard and showed all his emotion on the mound, yelling into the air and untucking his jersey in relief. With that win over a ranked opponent, O’Hanlon demonstrated his passion for the game and why he is put into these situations to close out games and add saves to his name.
Being one of the forefront leaders for Hofstra, O’Hanlon reiterated how he and other players keep everyone on the same page during a long and treacherous season.
“We know we have a long season, and we haven’t been playing at home,” O’Hanlon said. “And we have a lot of new guys pitching, but we just instill that belief like last year because everything mattered. We always believe we are in the game even if we are losing in the ninth. So we just want to get back to that mentality of just always believing in what we got and just shutting it down.”
The unexpected start for the Pride early on has caused many to question if they will be able to turn their season around and repeat as CAA champions once again. Even if the odds are against them, O’Hanlon wanted to leave the fans with one final message.
“Just let the people know that we’re coming.”
Photo courtesy of Dale Sparks
