Kory Kiro of Goffstown knows all about the bad days of Daniel Webster College baseball. He lived them.

Kiro was a freshman when the Eagles went 7-24 — their 16th straight losing season — so, the senior is soaking in the feeling of preparing for the program’s first trip to the NCAA Division III tournament.

“It’s unreal,” Kiro said. “I never thought we’d be here.”

DWC coach J.P. Pyne, now in his fifth season, turned around the program and did it building on base of in-state talent. Sixteen players on the roster are from New Hampshire.

Kiro was named the New England Collegiate Conference pitcher of the year and redshirt freshman Kyle Brigham of Hudson (Alvirne) was named rookie of the year. Junior catcher Tyler Bonin of Litchfield (Campbell) was honorable mention all-conference.

Brigham, who started out at Southern New Hampshire, said he transferred to DWC because he was familiar with several players on the team, including former high school teammates Korey LeLievre and Zach Hurley, spoke so highly of the atmosphere at the school and the work of Pyne.

Pyne, the former head coach at St. Anselm, said it took a while to build a report with in-state players. He remembers the first recruit he ever called after getting the job, a catcher from a New Hampshire high school, told him he wasn’t sure where was going, but “I know I’m not going to Daniel Webster.”

“It was hard to change the perception locally,” Pyne said.

Three straight seasons of 20-plus wins has changed that perception and, now, a trip to the NCAAs is sure to make the program even more competitive in a state where there are top teams in both Division III and Division II.

“Talented players in New Hampshire have a lot of choices, there are some real good programs in their own state,” Pyne said. “I want us to be one of those programs. Going to be tournament this year is a really important step.”

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FOLLOWING HIS DREAM: Many kids dream of playing Division I athletics, but not many reach that goal. Football is one of the hardest sports for an athlete to reach the highest level. Josh Smith is one of those kids who had that dream of playing Division I football.

A former quarterback at Memorial High in Manchester, Smith said he had no scholarship offers coming out of high school. He went to work for almost two years, but the dream never went away. On the advice of his father, he decided to try walking on at the University of Wyoming.

Fifteen players walked on that year, but only Smith stuck it out, transforming himself into a multi-purpose athlete who plays several positions, including special teams. Finally, after two years in the program, and a strong showing this spring, Smith has worked his way into a position to play this fall.

It’s easy to have your dreams dashed; Josh Smith just wasn’t going to let it happen to him.

There’s an inspiring video interview he did with Robert Gagliardi, the sports editor of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Any kid who has had the dream should watch it. Here’s the link: http://wyomingcowboysblog.com/2012/04/12/video-josh-smith/.

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SHORT HOPS: The RPI women’s lacrosse team went 16-2 this year and reached the NCAA Division III tournament thanks to the help of three players with Granite State ties. Sophomore Julia Wright of Bedford (Bishop Guertin) and freshman Lydia Wolter of Hampton (St. Thomas) were both regulars on the offensive side, while junior goalie Allie Arnal, a New York native who went to Phillips Exeter, was named Liberty League defensive player of the year. ... Rick Senatore of Franklin Pierce University was named NE-10 men’s lacrosse coach of the year, making him a two-time winner of the award. He was also given the honor in 2007 when he was the head coach at St. Anselm. ... Nicky Drolet of Somersworth was named to the Little East second team in women’s lacrosse after finishing with a team-high 55 goals and 68 points for Rhode Island College. ... Melissa Kelly of Hill (Franklin) and Kacie Lang of Raymond were among the Daniel Webster students honored by the college with its Distinguished Service Award. The award honors students for their contributions to the quality of campus life at DWC. Kelly is a junior on the field hockey team and Lang is a senior who competed in cross-country and basketball. They were only student-athletes to receive the award, honored for contributions that went beyond sports. ... Semifinalists for the Tino Martinez Award as best college baseball player in Division II include first baseman Zach Mathieu of Franklin Pierce, junior pitcher Tim Flight of Southern New Hampshire, and junior pitcher/first baseman Robert Kelly and senior pitcher John Healy of St. Anselm. Mathieu, a sophomore from Derry (Pinkerton Academy) was recently named player of the year in the NE-10, while Flight was named pitcher of the year. ... Middlebury sophomore second baseman Emily Kraytenberg of Londonderry was named to the all-NESCAC second team in softball.

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THE BEYOND THE BORDERS SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON: Jessica Mitchell of Derry. The sophomore was part of the Johnson & Wales team that won the Intercollegiate Dressage Association’s national championship recently at Centenary College Equine Center in Long Valley, N.J. The team of four riders beat out a field of 12 teams from nine regions across the country. Riders were randomly assigned to horses and given a 10-minute warm-up to familiarize themselves with their horse before going through their paces in front of the judges. Mitchell is part of the equine studies program at J&W and trains at the college’s Center for Equine Studies in Rehoboth, Mass.

Email Jim Fennell at jfennell@unionleader.com.