On the third of July, the Starfires battled the Vermont Lake Monsters in their first home game versus the team up in Burlington. The Starfires battled in that game, squeezing out a point with a 3-2 loss in the home run derby.
While there certainly were several positives from that game, the best performer for the game had to be starting pitcher Cody Heselton.
The rising sophomore tossed five innings that game, allowing just three hits, no runs, and seven punchouts against a dangerous Lake Monsters lineup that led the FCBL in hits.
Heselton grew up in Glastonbury, Connecticut, and for the first three years of his high school years played at his hometown Glastonbury High School, where he was all-conference in his junior year.
His high school summer ball was spent with the amateur travel team Baseball U, one of the top summer teams in the Northeast, as well the the Connecticut Whalers AAU team.
In his final year of high school, Heselton attended Putnam Science Academy, amping up the competition he was expected to face at the collegiate level in his next season.
The lefty had scheduled visits to many Division I programs, including Monmouth in New Jersey and Central Connecticut State. However, the number seven left-handed pitching prospect out of the state of Connecticut committed to play for the Marist Red Foxes in upstate New York.
“I thought Marist was the best fit for me overall,” he said about his decision. “They gave me the best chance of success.”
After graduating from Putnam Science Academy, Heselton joined the Syracuse Salt Cats for the summer of 2024, playing in the New York Collegiate Baseball League.
The Salt Cats were dominant in 2024, going 29-11-1 in the regular season for first place in the East Division, then rattling off five straight wins in the playoffs to take the NYCBL championship after sweeping Dansville in a best-of-three series.
Heselton played a vital role for Syracuse, mostly as a multi-inning reliever. He went 2-1 with a 3.84 earned run average across 23.1 innings and had an impressive 33 strikeouts that season.
He made two big appearances in the Salt Cats’ playoff run, going three innings, yielding no runs, and fanning six in the semifinal victory over Cortland. Then, went 3.1 innings in game two against Dansville with five strikeouts, including punching out the final batter of the game to earn the championship.
At Marist, Heselton was majoring in Criminal Justice. On the baseball side of things, the 5’11’, 185 lb pitcher made his first appearance in a loss to Wake Forest on February 16, throwing one scoreless inning.
The hurler’s action was quite limited, though during the season, with Heselton tossing just 2 ⅔ innings for the entire spring, giving up two total runs but striking out three.
“The workload is a huge jump from the high school level,” Heselton said. “College is a completely different game.”
Starfires’ Vice President of Baseball Operations then reached out to Marist and recruited Heselton to play summer ball for the Westfield Starfires in 2025.
The Connecticut native made his first appearance for the Starfires on June 1 in a 6-2 win against the Norwich Sea Unicorns. He went 1.1 innings in relief that game with a hit and a strikeout in that outing.
The very next day, June 2, Heselton entered the transfer portal, looking to take his talents elsewhere after limited action at Marist.
Heselton then entered the starting rotation on June 12, going four innings and allowing two runs against the Vermont Lake Monsters.
A couple of days later, on June 14, Heselton landed at Southern Connecticut State for the 2025-26 school year.
“They reached out to me when I entered the portal,” he said. “It is nice being closer to home, and I believe I can play there and make an impact.”
Over his next few outings, Heselton kept getting better and better. In the next three times he toed the rubber, Heselton went five innings in each of them, allowing two earned runs in his second start, one in his third start, and finally zero runs in his best outing of the season, aforementioned against the Lake Monsters.
“I can throw my offspeed for strikes, and my fastball is good as well,” he said about his success. “I have a good feel for where to throw a pitch and when.”
At the midway point of the season, Heselton has emerged as the Starfires’ ace with a 1-1 record and a 1.98 earned run average across 22 ⅓ innings with 21 punchouts.
“Cody has been outstanding this summer,” said Starfires pitching coach Ben Farber. “Since moving into the rotation, he has proven a lot and established himself as a top arm in this league. We are fortunate to have him.”
“The guys and the coaches [at Westfield] are very welcoming,” he said about the team. “I have a lot of respect for all of them.”
Heselton will be majoring in Sociology at SCSU with a minor in Criminal Justice.
“I am very consistent,” he said about his biggest strength. “I will work hard and also go above and beyond.”
Given his commitment level, ability to keep hitters off-balance, and the potential he has shown in summer ball thus far, Heselton is poised for an excellent finish to his season with the Starfires and a breakout season with the SCSU Owls and success wherever his career takes him.
