It was the old Montville High School baseball coach, Phil Orbe, now the school’s athletic director, interviewing the new Montville baseball coach, Steve Stonoha, who has been Orbe’s pitching coach since 2006. Orbe was joined by a hiring committee.

“It was kind of strange telling him things he already knew about myself,” Stonoha said Thursday, following the school’s announcement that he was hired to replace Orbe. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, I pretended he wasn’t there.”

Stonoha, a former high school state champion as a player at Derby High School and a national champion while a member of the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team, has been Montville’s pitching coach since 2006 and the associate head coach since 2008.

In that span, Montville won seven Eastern Connecticut Conference regular-season titles, three ECC tournament titles and Class M state championships in 2006, 2010 and 2011. The Indians were 25-3 last season with a 21-game winning streak, falling in the state tournament finals.

Orbe, who replaced Walt Sherwin as athletic director, coached Montville for 21 seasons.

“Steve Stonoha has earned the opportunity to be the head baseball coach at Montville High School,” Orbe said in a press release. “… There is a direct correlation between Steve’s arrival and the success of the baseball program. Steve brings a pedigree of winning that is without question. Not many baseball people can lay claim to winning a state title as a player and a coach, along with a national championship as a collegian.”

Stonoha said he slept on it for just a day before deciding he would like to apply for the position.

A math teacher at Montville High, Stonoha calls the town his “second home.” He also served with Orbe, the head coach of the Mystic Schooners, as that team’s pitching coach during the 2012-13 seasons, with four of his pitchers signing professional contracts.

“With Phil being there for 21 years, I knew whoever replaced him was going to be a big deal,” Stonoha said. “I didn’t see Phil resigning from the job as early as he did. It’s a big deal and I’m glad it’s me. I can’t wait for the season to start. I’m honored to take the reins as head coach.

“We’ve been on the same page for quite a while,” Stonoha said of Orbe. “We do things very similar.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday