COOKING UP A WINNER: Princeton High baseball player Paul Cooke takes a swing in a game earlier this season. PHS senior star Cooke had a double and an RBI as seventh-seeded PHS defeated 10th-seeded Hightstown 4-0 in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament. The Little Tigers, now 11-7, play at second-seeded Allentown in the MCT quarters on May 9 with the victor advancing to the semis on May 12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Paul Cooke’s uniform was caked with dirt, reflecting his role in the middle of the action as the Princeton High baseball team celebrated its Senior Day with a walk-off win over visiting Lawrence last Wednesday.

Senior outfielder Cooke slammed an RBI single to help ignite a two-run rally in the bottom of the first inning and legged out an infield single in the bottom of the fifth. He ended the day by lofting a sacrifice fly to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to give the Little Tigers a 4-3 triumph.

Emotions were running high for Cooke and his classmates as they took the field against Lawrence.

“That pregame ceremony is a little weird, it has gone so fast,” said Cooke.

“To have it be my class and be up there with all of my friends is really cool. But at the same time, I think it took us out of our rhythm. We started the game with a lot of emotion and that can help you some but at the same time you have to learn to put that to use.”

After yielding a run in the top of the first, PHS regained its rhythm, starting with a leadoff bunt single from senior center fielder Jaedyn Paria.

“That was huge, the bottom of the first inning,” said Cooke. Jaedyn’s bunt single set the tone. We weren’t going let that fester today. Being able to channel our emotions and get a couple of runs in the first inning was big.”

PHS pushed the lead to 3-1 but Lawrence rallied to make it a 3-3 game going into the bottom of the seventh inning. As the Little Tigers got ready to bat in the seventh, Cooke sensed they were going to pull out the win.

“I think we have been in a lot of close games,” noted Cooke.

“We are just coming in, and the great thing about it is, everyone had on their mind if we didn’t get it done in the top of the seventh, we will walk it off here. That is what is so great about this team and how we are performing well, because if we take a hit, we are not going to sit down, we are going to come back.”

With the bases loaded and one out, Cooke enjoyed a great moment as he fought off a 0-2 count to produce the game-winning sac fly.

“I had taken a pitch at the 0-0 count and then I helped the pitcher out on the 0-1 a little up and away,” recalled Cooke, who came through again on Monday with a double and an RBI to help seventh-seeded PHS defeat 10th-seeded Hightstown 4-0 in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament.

“On the 0-2 pitch I am going to stay up on my hip; I know all I need to do is drive a ball into the air. Whether that drops or not, it doesn’t matter, it is getting that run in.”

While Cooke was thrilled to be the hero against Lawrence, he gained more satisfaction from seeing his teammates thrive.

“I like to see how our young guys develop,” said Cooke, who is headed to Swarthmore College where he will be playing for its baseball program.

“I have been here for a while and I have felt that transition myself, going from that young guy in my freshman year and trying to develop into this new role. I like seeing our young guys grow, come out, and perform. The best role is being able to say that my teammates are playing better around me.”

PHS head coach Dave Roberts is proud of how his seniors have developed into stalwarts for the program.

“It is a great group,” said Roberts, whose Class of 2018 includes Mike Frost, David Valente, John Girouard, Mike Ramirez, Alec Silverman, and Zack Yoelson in addition to Cooke and Paria.

“I was going through all of their contributions last night and how many games each one of them played, how many innings, and their starts. It is a class that has given us a lot of mileage in the field, on the mound, and behind the plate. A lot of these guys are three-year guys and Paul is a four-year guy.”

It was fitting that Paria triggered the first inning rally. “Jaedyn, as a senior, got the momentum back with that bunt,” said Roberts. “I was really happy to see him do that and then we were able to pick him up. We were able to come through.”

Roberts was not surprised to see the Little Tigers come through in the bottom of the seventh.

“I kept saying to our guys, keep your head above the fray and make sure that you focus,” said Roberts.

“There was a lot of confidence going through the guys, we brought up a couple of pinch hitters and Owen Seals did a great job. Jaedyn had another good at-bat and Tommy Reid came through as he has been all year long. Paulie got down in the at-bat but he knew what he had to do. He knew he needed to lift that ball to center field and he did. It was a great at-bat.”

With PHS, now 11-7 and playing at second-seeded Allentown in the MCT quarterfinals on May 9 with the winner advancing to the semis on May 12, Roberts believes his team will be a tough out.

“We can make a run,” said Roberts, whose squad has also qualified for the upcoming state tourney.

“We have to stop doing a couple of things. We are walking too many guys and we are not making enough routine plays, but if we can clean that up, we can get through it.”

Cooke, for his part, is savoring the homestretch of his PHS career. “This has been a really special season,” said Cooke.

“Coming into it, we knew that we had a chance to do something special. The way that we approached practice from day one, the way the coaches all approached it from day one was showing the mind-set that we are going to win this year and do some things that we haven’t done in a while.”