(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) GREAT SCOTT: Princeton Day School baseball star Jon Scott catches his breath after making it to first base in recent action. Senior star Scott’s solid hitting and defensive excellence at catcher has helped PDS produce a 9-4 start this spring. In upcoming action, the Panthers host Pennington on April 28, Hopewell Valley on May 1, and Peddie on May 3.

Senior Star Scott Keeping Nose to Grindstone as PDS Baseball Looks to Peak at Right Time

Bill Alden

After losing consecutive games to Hun and Hamilton last week, Jon Scott and his teammates on the Princeton Day School baseball team were determined to get back on the winning track last Friday when they hosted Princeton High.

Batting in his customary clean-up spot, senior catcher Scott contributed a single in the bottom of the second to help PDS jump out to a 1-0 lead. In the third, he contributed a walk as the Panthers went up 2-0.

In the fifth, Scott stroked another single as PDS scored two runs to take a 5-2 lead on the way to an 8-2 victory.

Taking a break from raking the home plate area of the PDS diamond after the contest, Scott was pleased as he reflected on the win which improved the club to 9-4 on the season.

“It was great to bounce back and the team played very well,” said Scott. “We came and played our game. Any time we play another team from Princeton, we want to win.”

But while Scott was satisfied with the victory, he knows that PDS has plenty of room for improvement, notwithstanding its solid record.

“We still have things to work on, we all know that,” acknowledged Scott. “We still haven’t played our best ball yet but we are just going to keep coming out and working hard everyday.”

Despite being a four-year starter and headed to a college baseball career, Scott knows that he hasn’t reached his potential.

“I have worked on a lot of stuff and I still have a lot of work to do,” said Scott, whose college options include Xavier, University of Rhode Island, and Bryant. “I have a ton of things to work on both offensively and defensively. My No. 1 goal is to keep getting better and keep working hard.”

PDS head coach Ray O’Brien was happy with the mound work he got from senior Jim Fuhrman in the win over PHS.

“Today Jimmy gave us what we needed; he came out and righted the ship,” said O’Brien.

“He came off that Blair outing where he threw seven scoreless inning and he threw a lot of pitches. We had him on three days rest and we wanted to get five innings out of him and he gutted out another one for us; he was terrific. He wanted the ball and you can’t ask for more than that.”

While the PDS offense was not flashy in the PHS game, it got O’Brien what he needed.

“We ran the hit and run a couple of times and we just chipped away until we wore their pitcher out,” said O’Brien.

In O’Brien’s view, it is a matter of time before Scott and the batting order explodes.

“Jon has been pretty consistent this year with the bat,” said O’Brien. “The whole team is waiting for the power numbers to come. I think that we haven’t come close to playing our best ball yet.”

The Panthers have seen senior Tim Barrett and junior Skye Samse play some pretty good ball this spring.

“Tim is playing a great shortstop and he is pitching well for us,” added O’Brien. “He hasn’t been hitting as well as he can hit. Yesterday he had a hit and today he really swung the bat well. Skye had a real good year last year and he has picked it right up. He has been one of our most consistent hitters.”

O’Brien is hoping his squad can hit its stride as it heads into postseason play with the Mercer County Tournament and the state Prep B tourney coming up in early May.

“I have faith in these guys that we will be able to finish strong,” said O’Brien, whose team hosts Pennington on April 28, Hopewell Valley on May 1, and Peddie on May 3.

“I think we are sitting pretty good right now. I have been around a lot of teams that got hot early or in the middle of the season. Hopefully, we haven’t peaked. We want to finish the story and make it a good one.”

Scott and his classmates are looking to author a special final chapter to their PDS careers.

“There is definitely a sense of urgency for the guys in my class,” said Scott. “We’re playing for a title; we are going to do whatever it takes to get it done.”

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