(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) DOUBLE TROUBLE: Princeton Day School star pitcher Jim Fuhrman fires the ball in a game last spring. Last Wednesday, sophomore Fuhrman starred on the mound and at the plate in a 16-0 rout of Pennington. Fuhrman pitched a 5-hit shutout and went 3-for-3 with 7 RBIs. PDS, now 7-0, hosts Robbinsville on April 16 and Princeton High on April 18 before playing at Rutgers Prep on April 22.

With Fuhrman Supplying Pitching, Offense PDS Baseball Produces Sizzling 7-0 Start

Bill Alden

Coming into the spring, the Princeton Day School baseball team was depending on sophomore Jim Fuhrman to head up its pitching rotation.

Last Wednesday, the hard-throwing right-hander certainly looked like an ace as he threw a five-hit shutout against visiting Pennington.

But Fuhrman gave PDS a lot more than superb moundwork in the contests, going 3-for-3 at the plate with 7 RBIs to help pace the Panthers to a 16-0 rout and improve to 5-0.

In reflecting on his big day, Fuhrman saw a lot of progress on the mound from his season-opening 11-2 win over Rutgers Prep.

“The last game I pitched was the first game of the season and it was the first time I was really throwing to live batters and I struggled a little bit,” said Fuhrman.

“This game I just felt good, I threw strikes, working counts real well. I threw the right pitches at the right time and spot.”

Fuhrman had command in both his fastball and slider. “My fastball had a lot of pop on it, I thought,” added Fuhrman, who had six strikeouts in the win.

“I was locating it real well. I threw my slider a lot more today. I have confidence in the slider right now; I’m throwing it for strikes.”

With a year of high school ball under his belt, Fuhrman feels he has reached a comfort level.

“I just have more confidence,” said Fuhrman. “Last year was freshman year; I made the adjustment real well. It just feels good right now. Everything is flowing with the team.”

As for his hitting prowess, Furhman wasn’t in a good flow coming into the Pennington game.

“I had my first at-bats of the year yesterday and I didn’t get a ball past the pitcher’s mound,” recalled Fuhrman. “The ball was carrying today; I don’t even know what to say.”

PDS head coach Bruce Devlin has plenty to say about how Fuhrman has developed as a pitcher.

“He’s a pitcher; he’s not a kid out there throwing,” said Devlin. “He knows what he’s doing, he has command of his pitches, he knows how to spot them.”

Fuhrman’s polish on the mound is no accident in Devlin’s view. “He works hard at it, he works all year at it,” said Devlin.

“He’s just a sophomore; the sky’s the limit for him. He’s got a great work ethic. He’s always in the weight room, he’s running, he’s doing long tosses. He loves the game, that’s a kid that will succeed.”

Devlin loves the way Fuhrman swung the bat against Pennington. “He’s not afraid to swing and that’s why he’s gotten opportunities the last couple of games,” said Devlin. “He comes up there without a conscience. I like that, he’s aggressive.”

The Panthers have been aggressive with the bat collectively. “We have a very good lineup,” asserted Devlin, whose team improved to 7-0 with an 8-6 win over Hopewell Valley last Monday.

“The kids all hit the ball and work hard. There is no easy out, we can run. We have a good group, all kids one through 20 work hard in all practices and in the off season. The biggest thing is that they are very athletic. They can do many different things.”

The team’s sizzling start, which saw it average nearly 12 runs a game in its first five outings, is no surprise to Devlin.

“I thought we would start very well,” maintained Devlin, who saw good signs in the team’s annual preseason Florida swing.

“We played some great teams in Florida, some big schools like Toms River South and Manalapan. We faced some good pitching down there, guys that were throwing 91 m.p.h., it helped us to face kids like that. We played very well down there, it gave us confidence. They carried it back here.”

The team also displays a passion to go with that confidence. “They love the game,” said Devlin, whose team hosts Robbinsville on April 16 and Princeton High on April 18 before playing at Rutgers Prep on April 22.

“They are a pleasure to work with, they listen; you don’t get that all the time. They come to work every day and work hard, it’s a good group. We laugh; we have fun.”

Fuhrman believes the Panthers are going to have a lot more laughs as the spring unfolds.

“We’re looking for a couple of championships, Prep B, our conference, Mercer County,” said Fuhrman.

“It feels good, there is a lot of energy in the dugout, not messing around but everyone is loose and that’s when people do better hitting and fielding.”

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