By Warren Rappleyea
Sayreville War Memorial High School pitcher Connor Johnson is preparing to head off to East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, where he will continue his baseball career.
Johnson was a formidable hurler for the Bombers, winning seven games over two varsity campaigns with a career ERA hovering around the 2.00 mark. This spring, he went 3-4 with a 1.70 ERA for a Sayreville squad that struggled to a 12-13 record.
Although the Bombers had difficulty at times scoring runs, Johnson managed to keep his team in games. Along the way, he struck out 10 batters in a three-hit shutout against Edison High School and also tossed a two-hitter against J.P. Stevens High School. At one point, Johnson went 15 innings without allowing a run.
“Connor’s record could have been better but we didn’t get him a lot of runs to work with and a couple of times our defense let him down,” Bombers coach Mike Novak said. “He still did a great job. I think he’s got excellent upside — has fastball is approaching 90 [mph]. I think he’ll do well in college.”
Johnson’s repertoire includes two- and four-seam fastballs, a slider and a circle changeup. He said that while he would have liked to pick up a few more wins, his main goal was just to pitch well.
“No matter what the score is you have pitch, and I knew that college coaches were looking beyond wins and losses,” Johnson said. “They look at your ERA, how you pitch in certain situations and how poised you are.”
Johnson began pitching in the local Little League before joining the Middlesex-based Full Count travel team as a 13-year-old. It was there that he learned the ins and outs of pitching from coach Matt Belford.
“Coach Belford taught me the circle change, but the most important thing he taught me was to stay calm on the mound,” Johnson said. “I used to get upset when something went wrong, and I’d lose my focus. Once I stopped doing that, I became a much better pitcher.
Two other mentors were Sayreville assistant Tim Ballard and former Bombers standout Jake Campbell, who both helped Johnson hone his pitching skills.
Johnson first began attracting attention from colleges at Full Count and last year, his strong relief outing against Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen opened more eyes. Johnson came on in relief to help the Bombers beat the Falcons in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament semifinals.
The East Stroudsburg coaching staff was particularly impressed and the 6-foot-2, 175 pitcher accepted their offer to pitch for the NCAA Division II school beginning this fall.
“I’m looking forward to going there; it’s a great opportunity,” Johnson said. “I really like the school and the coaches. I’ll have to prove myself, but there’s a good chance I’ll get to play right away.”
Johnson said he is spending his summer working to get stronger to better prepare for college ball and to, hopefully, increase his velocity.
“I want to be ready because I want to make a good impression,” he said.
