WESTFIELD, Massachusetts (March 18, 2025) – The Westfield Starfires will have a strong staff to lead their squad in 2025, with 2024 FCBL Manager of the Year Paul Bonfiglio announcing the team’s staff selections for the upcoming campaign on Tuesday, March 18.

Nate Cormier will return and has been promoted to associate manager, and Scott Ross has also been retained as an assistant coach. Additionally, Ben Farber has been named the team’s pitching coach, while two-time Starfires alumnus Ryan Molinari will return to Westfield as the bench coach. Rounding out the staff are Emma Grenier and Joe Hartzell, who will serve as the team’s mental performance coaches.

Of his staff, Bonfiglio said “This is a highly intelligent group and a potentially dominant mix of traditional and emerging developmental approaches. There's no doubt that our players will have a chance to connect and be supported here.”

Cormier, who in 2024 served as Westfield’s hitting coach, was able to get the most out of a talented lineup, with a .275 batting average as a squad and a league-best .769 on-base plus slugging thanks to an FCBL-best 41 home runs. Westfield’s power did not come at the expense of contact, either; the Starfires had the fewest strikeouts per nine innings of any FCBL offense.

“I’m extremely excited to get back on task of bringing a championship back to Westfield. Last year’s experience created a new brand of baseball for the Starfires, and we want to win,” Cormier said.

Ross returns for a second season and will provide experience on a still-young staff, with his wealth of knowledge from coaching with the Garciaparra Baseball Group as well as with Wayland and Franklin High Schools in Eastern Massachusetts.

“I am extremely excited once again to be a part of the coaching staff for the Westfield Starfires this upcoming summer. Last year was a great season, and we are hoping once again for a successful summer and coming home with the title this time around,” Ross said.

Molinari returns to Westfield with 31 games of experience across two seasons, hitting .333 with a .432 on-base percentage in 111 plate appearances in 2022 and 2023, and was a .319 hitter at the collegiate level between Wesleyan University and Milligan University from 2021-24.

Farber joins the Starfires from New York University, where he is the team’s director of pitching analytics, assistant pitching coach, and bullpen coach. In his first full season with the Violets, the team set a program record for strikeouts in a season with 279. He also has a wide range of collegiate summer baseball experience, having worked in the West Coast League and New England Collegiate Baseball League. He pitched collegiately at Macalester College.

The Starfires open the 2025 season at historic Billy Bullens Field with a rematch of the 2024 FCBL Championship against the Norwich Sea Unicorns on May 28 at 10:30 a.m., and will host their official Opening Night game on May 31 at 6:30 p.m. against the New Britain Bees.