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Fairfield Warde

FAIRFIELD, Ct. - A former college pitching coach has FFLD Warde looking good on the mound with the 2019 season upon us.

Five junior right-handed pitchers form the nucleus of the pitching staff for the Mustangs and Brett Connors, a fourth-year head coach who worked previously at Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart.

“Our strength is pitching,” Connors said in looking at this year’s squad. “They all contributed last year and now have experience. We’re hoping that year of varsity experience raises the bar for us..”

Chris Saladin is the ace for FFLD Warde, with Phil Hogan penciled in as the number two pitcher. Saladin, a 6-5 200-pound Yale commit, is ranked 30th in the New England junior class. Hogan, a 6-1 180-pounder ranked 94th in the 2020 class, had the top fastball at a recent PBR New England Pitching Analysis.

Harry Graney-Green is projected to be next in line as a starter with Anthony Espinoza, a 5-10 195-pounder ranked 127th in the junior class, and Mason McKay adding depth to the staff.

“I like their high velocity,” Connors said. “Everyone is 83-88 with hard sliders.”

Senior captains Finn Mobley and Matt Raab are three-year regulars for the Mustangs, Mobley at catcher and Raab at second base. More experience comes from senior right fielder Austin Stewart and utility player Sam Vincent.

Junior Christian Hardiman was all-conference in center field a year ago and returns. The 5-11 175-pounder, ranked 145th in the New England 2020 class, hit .400 as a sophomore. Declan O’Hara completes the outfield in left where he started a year ago as a freshman.

“I feel our pitching and outfield defense is one of the best in the conference,” Connors noted. “But our infield is a question mark right now.”

Junior Jack Pierce gets an opportunity to play shortstop after sitting behind all-stater Ryan Donnelly.

“We’ve got to hit more consistently,” Connors said about concerns entering the season. “We’ve got guys that can hit for power but they’ve got to consistently show it.”

After going 10-10 in the regular season before losing in the first-round of the tournament with predominantly sophomores and juniors, the fourth-year head mentor is hoping to get the program back to state finals form.

“I’ve tried to stress being mentally strong, doing things the right way and preparing the right way,” Connors said about what he has brought to the program, which lost in the state finals his first year as head coach. “There’s a reason why you put the uniform on, there have been a lot of players that sacrificed before. Know what it means.

“We want to compete every pitch, compete in practice, be mentally tough. We want guys to push each other to get better every day.”

Connors sees similarities with this year’s squad to his first FFLD Warde team.

“We expect to compete for the league,” Connors said. “We have the makeup of the 2016 team that lost to Amity in the finals. It’s a matter of staying focused, staying healthy and bringing the same demeanor that team brought.”

And the keys to success are?

“First our pitchers need to stay healthy,” Connors explained. “Then our pitchers have to compete. We need to make the most of our opportunities and stick together. This team seems to be on the right track there.

“We also need our bench guys that might not get a lot of opportunities to be ready when I call their name. That raises the level of play of the starters when the guy behind them is just as good. Our depth is deep and I won’t hesitate to call a name and give everyone a chance.”