(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) GOING THE DISTANCE: Princeton High senior pitching ace Colin Sarafin fires a pitch in action last spring. Sarafin produced a stellar pitching effort last week to lead PHS to a 5-1 win over Nottingham. Sarafin fanned nine batters and scatter seven hits in going the distance.

With Sarafin Leading Pitching Staff, PHS Baseball Tops Hamilton Teams

Bill Alden

It was a situation which may have seen past Princeton High baseball teams unravel.

PHS took a 5-1 run lead over visiting Nottingham into the seventh inning last week but then the Northstars loaded the bases on two walks and an error.

Just as it looked like the game might be getting away from the Little Tigers, senior pitching ace Colin Sarafin found a second wind to strike out the next two batters and secure the win and a complete-game mound effort.

Sarafin pointed to the inning as evidence of the team's more upbeat approach this spring. "Usually when we made errors last year it would snowball," said Sarafin, who screamed for joy after he fanned the final Nottingham batter.

"A big help this year has been the way coach [Scott] Goldsmith has been addressing keeping up team morale. When a guy makes an error we pick him up, it keeps that snowball from happening."

The skilled right-hander was pumped to pick up PHS in the win over Nottingham as he delivered another superb outing. "I felt really good for the whole game," said Sarafin, who also chipped in an RBI single to help his cause. "Usually I get stronger once I get over the hump in the first or second innings; I'm good to go the rest of the game."

After injuring his shoulder playing on the PHS boys' hockey team, Sarafin believes he should be good to go the rest of the spring.

"My shoulder is back to 100 percent," said Sarafin, who is heading to Haverford College this fall where he plans to play baseball. "I really wanted to play hockey but baseball is my main sport. I didn't want to jeopardize that and it has obviously paid off."

Having pitched PHS to wins over perennial powers Hamilton West and Nottingham in the first two weeks of the season, Sarafin believes that the Little Tigers have shown they will be formidable this spring.

"I think it definitely shows a lot about this team to come out against these Hamilton teams which are usually powerhouses," said Sarafin, who had nine strikeouts in the win over Nottingham. "I think that we've proven that we're competitive this year and that we can play against anyone."

First-year head coach Goldsmith likes the competitive spirit his team has been displaying so far this spring. "It's exciting, I've been saying from the get-go we don't care what town we're playing because we're going to compete against everyone in the league," said Goldsmith.

"Everybody looks young to us, we have the experience. We have stuck together for the last couple of years now."

PHS is lucky to have an experienced pitcher like Sarafin anchoring its mound corps. "He's definitely our ace right now," said Goldsmith. "He's coming through and he's solid. He kept on saying he felt good today and he went seven strong innings."

Goldsmith saw solid play all around the diamond in the win over Nottingham. "Today was smart baseball," asserted Goldsmith, who got two hits and two RBIs from senior first baseman Luke Stern.

"We had maybe on error in the field. We moved the runners in situations. We're trying to manufacture runs, we want to move runners and get them in positions where they can score runs."

With his core of seniors, Goldsmith is confident his team can make a run at the .500 record needed to qualify for the state tournament.

"They are determined to have a winning record," added Goldsmith, whose team fell 11-2 to WW/P-N last Friday to move to 2-3 on the season and will host Princeton Day School on April 20 before playing at Hopewell Valley on April 23.

"The states are what we are gearing towards. We have the seniors to do it. Over the years we have come together as a team. It's about sticking together and getting over that mental block."

Sarafin, for his part, believes that the unity among the PHS seniors will help keep the team in the middle of the action when playoff time rolls around later this spring.

"We're all great friends, the Florida trip was a great bonding experience," said Sarafin. "The goal is to get over .500 and make the states. Based on these two games, it's very plausible. We went 11-14 when I was a sophomore and 5-17 last year. I'm not planning on sitting around my house this May."

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