THE RIGHT STUFF: Princeton High baseball player Chase Hamerschlag fires a pitch in a game this spring. Junior Hamerschlag starred with his arm and bat for PHS this season, notching a team-high 58 strikeouts on the mound and batting .397 as the Tigers went 9-12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

It was a roller-coaster ride this spring for the Princeton High baseball team.

After getting off to a 6-3 start, PHS lost eight straight games. The Tigers rebounded by winning their last three regular season contests as they earned a spot in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 tournament.

PHS head coach Dom Capuano acknowledged that there were plenty of highs and lows for the Tigers this season.

“We had stretches where we played really good and we had stretches where we didn’t, it is what it is,” said Capuano, whose team posted a final record of 9-12. “It was a good season. We made it back to the state tournament. We had a two-year hiatus from that so that is something to be proud of, getting back there.”

In the three-game winning streak, which saw PHS defeat South Hunterdon 8-3, New Egypt 2-1 and WW/P-North 5-2, the Tigers played some good ball.

“We kept ourselves in the game in those games,” said Capuano. “We did what we were supposed to do and we didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”

In the first round of the state tournament, the Tigers did shoot themselves in the foot in an 11-1 loss to Hightstown.

“We were excited and we were pretty confident that if we played a clean game, we would have a good shot at winning,” said Capuano. “Now that clean game didn’t happen. We thought we matched up pretty decently with them if we played our best but we didn’t. That was part of our season.”

While it was an uneven season, Capuano saw some key positives.

“I thought we pitched very well this year,” said Capuano, whose squad collided a 4.21 ERA. “We had a lot of sophomores get a good amount of time and experience which really helps and is big moving into next year.”

The team has a solid core of returners, led by junior Chase Hamerschlag along with junior Matt Akey, sophomore Will Arns, sophomore Charlie Baglio, sophomore Nick Rizzo, sophomore Tyler Florentino, and junior Anders Hedin.

“We have Chase coming back, we have Matt coming back,” said Capuano. “Will started every game at shortstop. Charlie got a lot of time and some other sophomores got experience like Nick, and Tyler. Anders is a junior, it is only his second year with us. Those three got exposure. Now did they have the best seasons that they wanted to? No. But I think we were able to identify what we need to do moving into next year.”

Hamerschlag starred with his arm and bat, notching a team-high 58 strikeouts on the mound and batting .397.

“Chase had a great season, .397 is an awesome season but the room for growth there is just big,” said Capuano, noting that Hamerschlag made the Mercer County All-Star squad for the upcoming Carpenter Cup Classic. “His ceiling is nowhere close to there. He had 25 hits and he probably should have been closer to 30 or 35 hits. He already has 109 strikeouts in his career. We are working on it. When he is in a groove, it is good. That is the same thing with his hitting. He has really has so much more left to grow everywhere. We are really excited to see what next year brings.”

The squad’s five seniors, Eric Wheeler, James Schiavone, Nano Sarceno, Nate Nydick, and Travis Petrone, showed their growth.

“They all had great years,” said Capuano. “The five of them were huge and they are going to be hard to replace with the productivity and experience they brought for us this year.”

Wheeler and Schiavone starred on the mound as Wheeler pitched to a 2.89 ERA and piled up 31 strikeouts while Schiavone had a 3.50 ERA and 29 strikeouts.

“Wheeler and James tied for the team lead in wins,” said Capuano. “James came along strong at the end. For Wheeler, it was the whole season. They did great on the mound. James was really good at the plate (batting .292).”

Sarceno proved to be a clutch hitter, batting .266 with 10 RBIs.

“Nano came up with arguably one of the biggest hits in the season when we came back to beat South,” said Capuano. “He stepped up huge for us at catcher when Akey got hurt.”

The versatile Nydick produced at the plate, hitting .261 with a team-high 12 RBIs, and was a key utility player in the field.

“Nate hit in the upper part of the lineup for the whole season pretty much,” said Capuano. “He came through with some big hits. If we needed him to play first, outfield or pitch, he did whatever we needed.”

Program stalwart Petrone produced a superb final campaign, batting .345 and tying Hamerschlag for the team-high in runs with 18.

“For him, especially at the plate, he way surpassed what I was expecting,” said Capuano, noting that Petrone, a three-sport star, will be playing football at FDU this fall. “He did great up there. He held down center field with a bunch of inexperienced outfielders around him which we needed.”

While those seniors will be missed, the experience gained by the younger players has PHS set up well for the future.

“Everybody has a good vibe right now going into next year,” said Capuano.