HITTING THE GAS: Princeton Day School baseball player Dom Gasparro takes a big swing in a game this season. Last Friday, senior third baseman Gasparro had a double, three runs, and an RBI in a losing cause as PDS fell 9-6 to visiting Hopewell Valley on its annual Senior Day celebration. On Monday, Gasparro and his classmates ended things on a high note as the Panthers defeated New Hope-Solebury (Pa.) 8-1 in its season finale. The win gave PDS a final record of 12-8. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Dom Gasparro found himself in the middle of the action as he played in his Senior Day for the Princeton Day School baseball team against visiting Hopewell Valley last Friday.

The third baseman and tri-captain got hit by two pitches to reach base, drew a walk, slammed a double, scoring three runs and getting an RBI in the process.

“I was excited to come out and play,” said Gasparro. “I am a senior captain of the team and I was hoping to get one big win against these guys. Last year we ended the season with them and they beat us.”

PDS played hard against the Bulldogs, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit to take a 4-2 lead and rallying for two runs in the sixth inning after falling behind 8-4 but came up short in a 9-6 defeat.

“I thought we played pretty well, that is a pretty good team,” said Gasparro. “I think they were top 20 in the state, they probably were going to make a good run in the states. For a while we were really there with them. Towards the end, we just didn’t capitalize on a few opportunities.”

In reflecting on the season, Gasparro believes the Panthers have played well this spring.

“This is a really good year for us, this is the most wins I have had in my four years here,” said Gasparro, who helped PDS get a win in its finale, going 2-for-4 with a double as the Panthers defeated New Hope-Solebury (Pa.) 8-1 last Monday to end the spring at 12-8.

“It would have been nicer if we had a championship but we got a lot of wins. We did win some tournament games.”

While PDS head coach Ray O’Brien was hoping for a win against HoVal, he was proud of the effort he got from his players.

“Both teams battled, it has been indicative of the season for the guys,” said O’Brien.

“They keep fighting. We are outgunned, we are outnumbered. We have nine or 10 guys. It is always David against Goliath for us with our numbers but the guys relish it. They each take a role, everybody gets to participate, everyone is into it because we have to be. It is all hands on deck.”

That fighting spirit helped the Panthers enjoy a fine campaign as they improved on the 10-14 mark they posted in 2015.

“They took a big step forward when you start looking back at the season,” said O’Brien.

“People didn’t expect much from us at all this year but I did. I thought we could be good this year. The pitching has been great. Chase Fleming has been pitching great the whole season and the same thing with Russell Kirczow. They go in and pound the zone and do what they are supposed to do.”

O’Brien credits Gasparro with doing what he was supposed to do from day one of his PDS career.

“Dom has been a star since his freshman year when he came in,” said O’Brien.

“He hasn’t said much over the years but he didn’t have to, Dom has done all of his talking on the field. He always does the right thing. Since his freshman year he has been like that, he has been hard-nosed. He plays tough and hard. I wish I had nine more like him, he is a coach’s dream.”

The team’s other seniors, shortstop Sam Guarino and left fielder Ryan Augustus, emerged as stars in their final campaign.

“Sam has slid over and played really well at short for us this year; he seems to be putting it all together this year,” added O’Brien.

“He really went out on a good note with a really solid year. Ryan Augustus is probably the most improved player, he worked so hard, changing his swing. He has become a complete player. Defensively, he has been great. This year in the four hole, he has become a force. He has had one of the better seasons a kid has had in a while. I am really proud of how hard he worked. He kept sticking to it, he has had a really great season.”

O’Brien sees good seasons ahead for his gritty club. “We lose three solid seniors but that will leave us with seven starting players coming back,” said O’Brien.

“The guys battled real hard this year. They  worked hard, practiced hard, and it has paid off. With 12 wins, you eclipse last year’s win total. I am real happy with it. The younger guys, like Ryan Bremer and Matt Nyce that haven’t played as much will be ready to play so we will be able to run nine guys out there that have varsity experience.”

Gasparro, for his part, relished his experience of assuming a leadership role this year along with classmates Guarino and Augustus.

“It was nice, we had big shoes to fill and I think we did that pretty well,” said Gasparro.

“We had more wins than we had last year. We would work a lot on days in the offseason when we had no practice. We would schedule on-field hitting. We just had a really good team chemistry this year, a lot of us really bonded because we also returned a lot of guys.”