Apr 2, 2018 By Kevin Harrison for The 3 min read

CONNELLSVILLE — Last spring, Robbie Orndorff and his staff guided the Connellsville baseball team to its first playoff appearance in 11 years.

Despite graduating seven seniors, the Falcons return 11 letterwinners, as they look to improve their standing in Section 2, 6A.

“Even though our playoff experience was short-lived, I think it was good step in the right direction for the kids and this program,” Orndorff said. “Our goals haven’t changed. We want to get back into the playoffs and go a little deeper this season.”

Graduation took away some solid talent for the Falcons in Robbie’s son, Derek Orndorff, now at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, and starting pitcher Hayden Harvey.

However, Orndorff said he has some experience returning to the mound in seniors Jake Ansell and Elijah Small, along with sophomore Jarred Cope. He said all three had some good outings during their spring trip to Myrtle Beach.

“I felt the kids looked good down there even though we didn’t come back with any wins,” Orndorff said. “We faced some better teams than what we faced last year when we won a couple of games.

“I felt the kids competed well and made good plays. They played the game the way I think it should be played, which I think will serve us well this season.”

Orndorff would like to see the Falcons become more disciplined and aggressive at the plate. He explained he would like his team to go after more hittable first strikes coming through the zone and not get too deep in the count where they are forced to chase bad pitches.

“We saw flashes of that during the trip,” Orndorff said. “We had some kids hitting the ball hard. It may show up as an out in the box score, but if they continue to swing and make solid contact with good pitches, the hits will come.”

Orndorff said a big challenge is keeping the kids in the game mentally when things are not going well. He said in past years he has seen kids become a little unraveled when they fell behind.

“I tell them to keep it simple,” Orndorff said. “Hit the ball, catch the ball, throw the ball.

“You can’t dwell on what happened on the previous pitch. Just concentrate on the current pitch and make the play at the plate or in the field to the best of your ability.”

Looking at some of the other players getting increased playing time this year, will be junior Cade Warrick, who is moving behind the plate to catch. Orndorff said he is very knowledgeable behind the plate and does a lot of little things that helps put the team in the best position to win games.

Brody Bonadio should be in center but could see some time at short when Ansell pitches.

Orndorff says the section will be tough with defending section champ Norwin and Plum leading the pack. Hempfield, Penn-Trafford and the Falcons look to be in a tight battle for playoff spots. Penn Hills will also look to surprise a few teams this season.

Orndorff says there is no reason why the Falcons can’t make a run for the section title based on what they did last year in winning some close game to get into the playoff if they stay focused and make their plays.