FLYING HOME: Princeton High baseball player Jensen Bergman races home last Monday on the way to an inside-the-park homer in a 12-2 win over Trenton Central. The Tigers, who improved to 7-6 with the victory, host Ewing High on May 20, Lawrence High on May 21, and Hightstown High on May 25. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Batting leadoff for the Princeton High baseball team, Jensen Bergman strives to be a catalyst.

“I am just trying to get on base every time and in any way possible,” said PHS junior center fielder Bergman. “Walking or getting a hit, I have got to make it happen.”

Last Monday as the Tigers hosted Trenton Central, Bergman did his job, reaching base to lead off the bottom of the first inning and then scoring the first run of the day as PHS plated three runs in the frame to go up 3-0.

“It was good right off the bat to get runs,” said Bergman. “We just kept expanding off of that.”

In the fourth, though, Bergman flipped the script, blasting a line drive to right center field past the Trenton outfielders and racing around the bases for an inside the park homer. His two-run shot gave the Tigers a 6-2 lead and they never looked back on the way to a 12-2 win over Trenton and improved to 7-6.

“I was looking for a fastball, I think it was a 2-0 count,” said Bergman, reflecting on his round-tripper.

“I saw it and I just hit it. When you hit the ball well, it doesn’t feel like anything. That was the feeling.”

Bergman, who starred as a sprinter this past winter for the PHS indoor track team, utilized that training in his jaunt around the diamond.

“I actually ran track for conditioning,” said Bergman. “I just felt a lot faster, stronger, and more prepared for the baseball season.”

Bergman and his teammates were determined to get off to a fast start against Trenton as they looked to bounce back from a 6-2 defeat to Robbinsville last Wednesday and a tough 7-5 loss to Allentown last Saturday in the CVC quarterfinals.

“We had a tough loss on Saturday, we wanted to come back and win this game and set the tone for the rest of the season,” said Bergman.

“We want to have a good seed in states and go in winning. We won three or four straight going into our two losses and now we have got to win again.”

While PHS didn’t get to play last spring when the season was canceled due to the pandemic, Bergman and his classmates were still able to hit the ground running this spring.

“We have 11 or 12 juniors on this team and we have all played with each other for years,” said Bergman, who is batting .333 this season with 11 runs, 11 hits, and 11 stolen bases. “It is good to come up with them.”

PHS head coach Dom Capuano was pleased that his team came up with three runs in the first inning against Trenton.

“I would have liked to see that happen every inning,” said Capuano.

“That was good, we talked about it; you put up a crooked number, that makes things easier.”

Bergman’s homer made things even easier for the Tigers. “We got a little energy there; it kind of separated us a little bit,” said Capuano.

“He is quick, he has like 11 stolen bases. He used his speed, he put it in the gap and it was a home run. He has been one of our top hitters all year. It is not surprising.”

PHS got some good batting from others in the lineup as Carl Birge and Flynn Kinney each had two hits with Aiden Castillo going 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs.

“Carl had a good game, hopefully he can continue that and keep progressing in that fashion,” said Capuano. “He hit the ball hard, a lot of people hit the ball hard.”

With the Tigers hosting Ewing High on May 20, Lawrence High on May 21, and Hightstown High on May 25, Capuano hopes his squad can build on the win over Trenton.

“The message before the game was we have got to win the week essentially,” said Capuano.

“This is the last week that the games count for state seedings. We have to win the week. Hopefully we win all three but you can’t do that if you don’t win the first one. We want to continue to get better next week for states. We haven’t won the big game.”

In girding for the state sectional, which starts in early June, PHS will need its mound corps to step up.

“I think pitching is key; last week in our two losses, it didn’t fully come down to pitching but I think everybody could have done better,” said Capuano.

“We are going to have our big guys in the hill for the next two games and hope they can continue to get the energy for the games that are left. Hopefully we will keep grinding and get ready for June 7.”

In Bergman’s view, PHS has what it takes to make a good state run.

“We played a good game against Allentown, we really battled,” said Bergman.

“Allentown is a really good team and we hung in there so we learned that we can do it. We can hang in with the best.”