Duquette moved the team to nearby Pittsfield in 2005 after reaching a lease agreement with the city that brought the Dukes to historic Wahconah Park.

The team had struggled to compete in the NECBL since moving to Berkshire County, and did not enjoy a winning season or a playoff berth until 2008.

The team's level of play has rebounded greatly since the disastrous summer of 2005, where the Dukes finished at a league-worst 11–31, the fourth fewest wins in NECBL history.

The Defenders' fan base has continued to grow despite the team's struggles on the field, with a reported home attendance of 28,955 in 2007, the fourth-highest in the league.

[1] In December 2009, the Defenders were sold to the Bristol Collegiate Baseball Club which moved the original franchise back to its beginning state of Connecticut.

[3][4] Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that the logo in question was actually the trademarked property of Top of the Third, Incorporated, owners of a minor-professional baseball team in Visalia, California.

Eastern was the only charter franchise to not take the name of its host community, Willimantic, which itself is a census-designated place in the town of Windham.

[1][permanent dead link‍] University of New Haven catcher Bill Buscetto was the championship series MVP, batting .409 with 4 RBI.

In 2016, the Mystic Schooners posted the best regular season record in the league (29-15) and won the Southern Division Championship by sweeping the Newport Gulls for the second year in a row.

Mystic swept the series behind all league players Nick Mascelli (Wagner College), Chase Lunceford (Louisiana Tech), Rich Slenker (Yale), Martin Figueroa (Rhode Island) and Toby Handley (Stony Brook) to win its second NECBL Championship.

Average attendance dropped to just 183 fans for the 2003 season, where the Thread City Tides would complete their final year in Connecticut at 16-25 and again eliminated from playoff competition.

In the spring of 2008, the Dukes' lease of Wahconah Park was jeopardized when the city demanded thousands of dollars in back maintenance fees owed by the franchise.

Following the 2008 season, Duquette joined forces with Buddy Lewis and Jerry O'Connor, executives of Nocona Athletic Goods Company (also known as Nokona), and retired U.S. Navy Commander Terry Allvord, founder of the U.S. Military All-Stars "Red, White and Blue Tour", to create a new ownership group dedicated to providing opportunities for members of the United States' armed forces and military academies.

Due to the timing of the new partnership and the desire to hold as many spots as possible for players from military schools and service academies, the roster was extremely late in taking shape.

The military academies had a hard time believing a premier NECBL team was interested in dedicating their efforts to provide an opportunity for their players.

Add to that a stadium under construction and at one point submerged under two feet of water, and Pittsfield faced every challenge imaginable.

[12] Players who have continued on to professional baseball careers include: Member of the 2022 World Series championship team[48] Dai Dai Otaka, who played for the team in 2019, previously worked in player development for the Houston Astros and is currently the minor league infield coordinator for the Chicago Cubs.