STRAIGHT SHOOTER: Princeton Day School softball player Colleen Mayer hurls a pitch last Monday against the Pennington School. Freshman Mayer tossed a no-hitter in the contest as PDS topped the Red Raiders 16-0 in five innings to improve to 2-0. In upcoming action, the Panthers play at the Hun School on May 4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Colleen Mayer kept things simple in taking the circle to pitch for the Princeton Day School softball team as it hosted the Pennington School last Monday.

“I am not really a pitcher,” said PDS freshman Mayer. “I was just doing fastballs the whole day.”

Mayer certainly looked like a real pitcher, hurling a no-hitter with nine strikeouts as the Panthers cruised to a 16-0 win against Pennington.

“It is cool,” said Mayer, reflecting on her mound gem. “We don’t have a pitcher, I just stepped it up for the team.”

Mayer also helped the team offensively, driving in the first run of the game in the bottom of the first as the Panthers tallied seven runs in the frame. She ended up going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

With PDS having posted two wins over Pennington and a win over the Lawrenceville JV in the first week of the season, Mayer believes the program is on the rise.

“I like the team we are building together and the environment,” said Mayer. “We just need to keep the momentum going.”

Even though she is just a freshman, Mayer is asserting herself as a leader for the squad.

“I just want to be a team player and be someone taking initiative,” said Mayer.

“I am one of the captains with another freshman, Adriana [Salzano] and a senior Abby Weinstein.”

PDS head coach Angela Parascando is impressed by the maturity being displayed by Mayer and Salzano.

“I have two great freshmen that are leading this team in Colleen and Adriana, they are captains and Abby is my senior captain,” said Parascando.

“The two of them were both nominated by their team to be the captains so the team recognizes them as leaders on this field.”

In Parascando’s view, the pitching effort from Mayer was exhibit A of her leadership qualities.

“For her to just step up like that is great, throwing fastballs and strikes, that is all I can ask her to do,” said Parascando.

“Between Colleen and Adriana, neither one of them are pitchers but that is what makes them leaders on this team. They step up and fill the positions that we need them to fill. They are doing a great job.”

Having taken the helm of the PDS program last spring but then not getting to coach the squad in any games with the 2020 campaign being canceled due to the pandemic, Parascando is thrilled to be on the diamond with her players this season.

“I was so excited; I am just relieved because last season I was ready to go,” said Parascando, noting that the team had about two weeks of practice last year before the season was halted.

“A lot of these girls are somewhat new to the game. Between the three of us coaches we have had a lot to work on before our first game. I am glad to see their progress. We are certainly moving in the right direction.”

In the win over Pennington, the Panthers showed progress with their bats as hitters throughout the lineup contributed offensively.

“All of them were swinging at good pitches,” said Parascando who got three hits from Salzano with Weinstein, Nora Appleby, Ava Daniel, Hannah Choe and Jenna Galla each getting hits.

“There was only a handful that didn’t get a hit. They were making good contact, they were swinging at good pitches.”

PDS is also progressing defensively as players settle into their spots on the field.

“I have a lot of beginners who are still learning the game so it is learning the positions,” said Parascando, whose team plays at Hun on May 4.

“I am putting them in positions where I think they are capable of fielding. They may not have started in that position or thought that is the position they were going to play but they have really stepped up and learned it. I think part of our success is keeping them in the positions so they can learn it. It is easier since they are coachable and we can put them where we need them to be and trust that is where they should be.”

For Parascando, coaching the squad is a labor of love. “It is my passion and I transfer all of that to them, I hope at least what they get out of this is that they are learning something,” said Parascando, a former softball standout at Lawrence High and Mercer County Community College who went on to serve as a manager for the Penn State program after an injury ended her playing career.

“My goal as a coach is to make sure that they always walk off this field learning something. It is keeping them encouraged, it is keeping them engaged in the game and making sure that they are paying attention because those are the little things that make a difference.”

Mayer, for her part, is seeing a big difference in the team’s understanding of the game in just a matter of weeks.

“I think it is the ability to learn because at the start we are not at the place we are now,” said Mayer. “We have grown exponentially.”