GROTON – Dillon Abeln feels most at home on the mound.

Which is good, because the Groton American Legion baseball program has plenty riding on that comfort level as the squad prepares for the Class B state tournament.

While Abeln is new to the Legion state tournament stage, he’s not new to big moments, as he is often called upon to face some of his team’s toughest opponents. He also played in the Junior Legion state tournament two summers ago, so it’s just as well that when he takes the field, he also prefers to take the ball.

“When I was young, that was my favorite spot to play in the field,” Abeln said. “There’s no place I’d rather be than on the mound.”

“Dillon is obsessed with pitching,” said Groton coach Seth Erickson. “He’d pitch every day and every game if I’d let him. He’s always asking to throw bullpens.”

Abeln has grown up on the diamond, playing T-ball and Little League as a youth before joining Groton’s Legion ranks. And while his athleticism allows him to play multiple positions – notably catcher and shortstop – the art of pitching always drew his attention.

In fact, one of Abeln’s go-to pitches, his curveball, is a product of some YouTube surfing about four years ago.

“I was just looking around on the internet,” he said, “and I came across this video. The guy suggested the grip I use now.”

Abeln played around with the grip, familiarizing himself with the feel and release. 

Now it’s arguably his dominant pitch.

“Sometimes I throw my curveball more than my fastball,” he said. “It’s the one I have the most confidence in.”

Of course, not everything in baseball goes according to script. The ball takes a bad bounce or a hitter bloops a lucky hit.

When that happens, Abeln says he has to just refocus and recenter.

“I just try to stay in the moment and trust my ability,” he said. “Try to stay calm and just do whatever I can to help my team.”

It’s literally an execution of one pitch at a time, he added.

“You’ve just got to control things you can control,” he said. “There’s a lot of things in baseball that aren’t going to go your way.”

That calm demeanor on the mound exudes confidence to his teammates.

“He has this presence about him on the mound that makes the team feel like we can win any game he’s pitching,” Erickson said. “He lets his play do the talking when you look at him being a leader.”

But the list of ways Abeln is able to help his team doesn’t end with pitching. He’s been donning catching gear lately, and when teammate Brevin Fleihs takes the mound, Abeln takes over at shortstop, quarterbacking the middle of the infield.

“He’ll play any position on the field and will probably be very good at it,” Erickson said. “He just knows the game of baseball.”

Still, Abeln – and, arguably, the team –  is at his best when the ball is in his hands.

“I really appreciate it because we have such a great team and we don’t have a weak spot,” Abeln said.

Groton opens the State B tournament against the host squad, and, predictably, that moment doesn’t feel too big for the Groton ace.

“I’m really excited for that first game,” he said. “We play Salem, and they’re hosting so we play the night game in front of the home crowd. … And the Groton fan base always shows up. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”