(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) GOOD CALL: Princeton Day School sophomore catcher Jon Scott directs traffic last Wednesday in PDS’ 8-4 win at Hun. Scott contributed an RBI triple in the victory.

Sparked by Scott’s Catching, Hitting Prowess, PDS Baseball Rolling Into Tournament Play

Bill Alden

Jon Scott displayed his polished game last Wednesday as the Princeton Day School baseball team took on cross-town rival Hun.

The precocious sophomore catcher handled himself smoothly behind the plate, capably handling pitcher Jim Fuhrman and throwing out a Hun baserunner on an attempted steal.

At the plate, Scott made solid contact, breaking through for an RBI triple late in the game to help PDS roll to an 8-4 victory over the Raiders.

While the muscular Scott has the physical tools to be a standout, it is his work ethic that has made him into a special player.

“It is always about improving, you always have to improve every time out,” said Scott, who is known for his rigorous off-season training.

“The little things matter the most and you have to improve on them no matter what you do. I love to play this game; this is the only game I like to play. I’ve got to keep putting 100 percent into it.”

With PDS seeing its nine-game winning streak snapped the day before the Hun game, Scott and his teammates were ready to give 100 percent in their annual clash with the highly-regarded Hun club.

“Yesterday was a tough game,” said Scott, referring to PDS’ 4-1 loss to Rutgers Prep.

“I’m glad that we bounced back from yesterday. Hun is a good ballclub. Any time you play a good ballclub, you get pumped up; you want to win.”

PDS’ potent offense, which is averaging more than 10 runs a game, helped key the win over the Raiders.

“Everybody hit the ball from the first batter to the ninth batter,” said Scott. “Everybody did a great job today.”

Scott enjoyed his big triple. “It was a good feeling, I was hitting the ball solid but it was right to the fielders,” recalled Scott. “I took a good deep breath, it was good.”

As good as the triple felt, Scott had as much fun behind the plate in catching classmate Fuhrman and nailing the Hun baserunner.

“I have known him for a while,” said Scott. “I know what he does and how he can pitch; how he does that and how he does this. I love throwing people out. It was a good throw, Clint [O’Brien] made a nice tag.”

PDS head coach Bruce Devlin liked the effort he got from his club as it rebounded from the loss to Rutgers Prep.

“Yesterday didn’t go our way; we hit good balls but right at people,” said Devlin.

“I wanted to see how the team would respond; they did really well today. It’s a good group, they work hard. It’s a big win for us; we just want to keep momentum going. We want to start another winning streak and keep things going. We want to keep improving everyday.”

Devlin admires Scott’s zeal for improvement. “He works on baseball 12 months a year, it’s the only sport he plays,” said Devlin.

“He works hard. No one sees him when he is in the weight room, or running sprints in the winter. He’s a leader as a sophomore. He’s the guy who is behind the plate; he gets all the action. He keeps everyone in focus on what’s going on.”

Scott’s work ethic has influenced the whole team. “I have kids who play baseball and love the game,” asserted Devlin, whose team kept rolling over the weekend as it won the Oratory Prep tournament routing the host team 15-4 in the final to improve to 13-1 on the season. “They work hard and they work all year at it. The hard work they put in, pays off.”

The team-wide desire to improve has helped PDS develop into a team that has the ability to do the same in both the state Prep B and Mercer County tournaments.

“They all compete, it’s a tough lineup to pitch to,” said Devlin, whose team is seeded first in the MCT and will start play in the tournament on May 3 when it hosts the winner of the Princeton High-WW/P-S opening round game.

“We can run, I think we have 40+ stolen bases and we have only been thrown out twice. We work on it; we want to have the best record as a possible for the seedings for the MCT and the preps.”

Scott, for his part, senses that this year’s club has what it takes to do something special in tournament play.

“Everybody is confident, everybody has each other’s back,” asserted Scott. “Last year we didn’t understand what we were coming into. This year we are ready to go no matter what happens. We are a lot more confident which is key in this game. It’s a lot better this season.”

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