Professional pitcher with family roots in Enfield is playing state for the first time

HARTFORD, CT — Chase Solesky has lived in Florida his entire life, except for the various locations he’s called home during his college and professional baseball journeys. His missions ranged from metropolises like New Orleans and Charlotte, N.C., to smaller cities like Birmingham, Ala., Winston-Salem, N.C., and Glendale, Ariz., to virtual outposts including Great Falls, Mont., Kannapolis, N.C. and Hagerstown. , Md.

Except for a six-week stint with the Plymouth Pilgrims of the New England Collegiate Baseball League in 2018, Solesky has never plied his trade near Connecticut or western Massachusetts, where his family has deep roots and an extensive athletic background.

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His father, Dave Solesky, was born in Springfield and became a professional Jai Alai player. On his maternal side, his grandfather, Larry Tracey, spent more than three decades as a football and basketball official, was president of the Central Connecticut Association of Football Officials (CCAFO) and was inducted into that organization’s Hall of Fame in 2008. That same year, he was awarded the George Daly Jr. Special Recognition Award by the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame.

Solesky’s mother, Theresa, was a cheerleader at Enfield’s Enrico Fermi High School and was a member of the 1984-85 Falcon team that was ranked 13th in the nation and was inducted into the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame last fall. Her sisters, Andrea Gately and Melissa Egan, followed in her footsteps by becoming cheerleaders at Fermi. Theresa eventually became the Falcons’ coach in the early 1990s, while Andrea took on the role a few years later.

All three brothers were in attendance Thursday night at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford when Chase took the mound as the starting pitcher for the Harrisburg Senators against the Hartford Yard Goats. Harrisburg is the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, who signed Solesky on June 10 after he collected three wins in nine appearances, including six starts, for the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars of the independent Atlantic Professional Baseball League.

Playing just 19 miles south of Enfield and two miles from former Hartford shortstop Jai Alai, Solesky pitched well, allowing six hits and three runs over five innings. He didn’t get a decision in the Senators’ 5-3 win, but getting the chance to perform in front of his extended family, as well as a regional New England Sports Network audience, meant a lot. on the right for 26 years.

“I never thought I would see him play where I was born and raised, where family and friends could be there to cheer him on,” his mother wrote on social media.

During a pregame interview Saturday with Patch, Solesky said, “I feel like I have the best mom in the world, and my aunts are two moms away from my mom. It was emotional for me, a special night. I actually had the opportunity to play in my ‘backyard’ in professional baseball, so to be able to come to Hartford, close to Enfield and Springfield, was like a dream come true.”

Despite having an entourage of family and friends on the field Thursday, Solesky said there was one thing missing. Larry Tracey died in 2022 and never got to see his grandson perform professionally.

“I really felt that he was able to be here with us and that was the most important thing to me,” he said. “My mom always says, ‘You have your angels in the field,’ but I really felt like she was here with me. I hear great things people say about him and my parents, and I think it makes me hold myself to a higher standard.”

It’s been quite a ride for the Fort Pierce, Fla., resident since graduating from John Carroll Catholic High School in 2016. He played three years at Tulane University in New Orleans, posting a 12-9 record in 49 games, including 25 starts, and struck out 123 batters in 163 innings.

Following his collegiate career, Solesky was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 21st round of the 2019 MLB Draft. He started with the organization’s rookie league affiliate in Great Falls, Montana, then waived as the entire 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He spent 2021 with a pair of Class A clubs, striking out 88 batters in 68 innings, then began 2022 with Class A Winston-Salem before being promoted to Double-A Birmingham in September. After six weeks in the Arizona Fall League, he began 2023 with Birmingham, posting a 3-2 record and a 3.23 earned run average in nine starts.

In June 2023, those impressive numbers earned him a ticket to the Charlotte Knights of the Triple-A International League. Just one round short of the major league level, Charlotte’s fluctuating roster that season had more than 40 players with big league experience, including veteran stars like Billy Hamilton, Liam Hendricks and Stephen Piscotty.

The competition in Triple-A was much tougher than Solesky had ever faced, collecting just two wins in 16 starts. On March 20, 2024, the White Sox released him and he signed with Hagerstown. After six weeks on the independent circuit, he signed with the Nationals and was on his way to the capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

“It’s been a very long year for me, but I’m extremely grateful to be with the Nationals,” he said. “They’re a first-class organization and my teammates and coaches here are great. I’m very excited and very fortunate to be here.”

His manager in Harrisburg is Delino DeShields, a 13-year MLB veteran who in 1993 was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a young prospect – future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez.

“Delino has been wonderful to me,” Solesky said. “I appreciate that about him; he has so much wisdom. His presence on the court every day is incredible and he treats us like his own children.”

Although he has yet to record his first win with the Senators, Solesky has pitched well, posting a 2.90 ERA in his first eight appearances, including six starts. His next appearance is scheduled for Wednesday at home against the Cleveland Guardians affiliate Akron RubberDucks.