It was April 19, 2021 when junior Dylan Parsons was called on by coach Mike “Moe” Moceri to make his first varsity appearance for Hamilton West. He entered in the sixth inning of a close game with the bases loaded and no outs, and appeared ready to have a memorable debut when he got the first two batters.
It then became memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Parsons hit two straight batters and surrendered a hit as the Redbirds broke it open en route to a 9-5 win.
“It was bad,” Parsons recalled. “I was telling my friends who I’ve been playing with forever that, ‘Moe’s not gonna let me pitch ever again.’ Which obviously didn’t end up being the case.”
No it didn’t, thankfully for the Hornets.
Parsons righted himself by the end of last season, and was one of Mercer County’s most dominant pitchers as a senior. The right-hander went 9-2 with a 1.52 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. He walked a mere nine batters.
“I have been a part of this program for 11 years, and this is one of, if not the best seasons a pitcher has had since I have been here,” Moceri said. “His ability to throw any pitch in any count, his ability to field his position, and most importantly his ability to work through adversity and pick up his teammates if they made a mistake was what made him so successful this season.”
Parsons summed it up succinctly, saying: “I’m pretty proud of the season I had.”
He took an interesting road to get there.
Playing for Sunnybrae Little League, Parsons would pitch in-house playoff championship games. His 8-year-old All-Star team defeated a Bordentown team that featured Hun star Carson Applegate and Northern Burlington standout CJ Fredericks. That same Bordentown team would win districts as 12-year-olds, while Dylan’s teams had little success.
Parsons played for Hamilton-Northern Burlington Babe Ruth as a 13-year-old, but surprisingly, did not make the All-Star team. He decided to forgo Babe Ruth baseball and play travel ball — for the Hamilton A’s under Hornets athletic director John Costantino, New Egypt Warriors and Jersey Rebels.
After pitching for the Hamilton JV as a freshman, Parsons and the rest of the state were sidelined the following year due to Covid-19.
When he finally reached varsity, Parsons worried his career was over before it started after the Allentown fiasco. He pitched in mop-up a week later in a 15-0 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South and figured the coaches still lacked confidence in him.
Moceri said that was not the case.
“He was upset with his (Allentown) outing and we told him that he needs to relax and keep working; he will get another shot,” Moceri said. “I commend him for his work ethic from that point forward and it shows a lot about him as a person and as a player. He took that outing to heart and said, ‘It’s not going to happen again.’ He got his second opportunity in relief a week later and was much better. He was good again in his next two relief appearances after that as well and we decided he had earned himself a start.”
Parsons got help from coach Mark “Gandhi” Pienciak, who set up an intrasquad game where Parsons would pitch. The former Hornet head coach moved Dylan toward the third base side of the rubber, which seemed to make a difference. In his next two appearances he allowed three hits and one unearned run while striking out six in 3.1 innings.
“After that, the confidence grew in them and me,” Parsons said. “I’m never really someone to not have confidence, but after that beginning game I was a little like ‘This is not gonna be a good season.”
Oh how wrong he was.
Parsons got his first start against Ewing and, despite control issues, got the win with 4.1 innings of solid work. After two more relief appearances, Moceri decided to start Dylan in Hamilton’s state tournament opener with Red Bank. The Hornets had lost two senior pitchers during the season, but the coach thought his junior earned the right regardless of that.
“We felt that he worked extremely hard all season, found command of all three pitches and deserved to start our first state game,” Moceri said. “He was spectacular, allowing just one hit and no runs in five innings.”
Because Parsons threw just 56 pitches, he started the next game against Hopewell and threw five scoreless innings in a 2-1 victory. In the sectional semifinal, Dylan came on in relief to allow one run in 4.1 innings against a powerful Northern Burlington lineup in an 8-1 loss.
His work in the states were the direct result of a tough mindset and strong work ethic.
“He worked so hard in practice everyday on his command, and was able to work through adversity,” Moceri said. “We were not surprised at all because we knew what he was capable of, we just thought the seniors deserved a shot (early in the year). He took that personally and proved the coaching staff wrong earning himself a spot in the rotation.”
Not just earning a spot, but giving Hamilton it’s No. 1 starter for 2022 after forging an 0.73 ERA and striking out 35 in 28.2 innings.
“If you told me that was going to be the outcome of the season I would have never believed you,” Parsons said. “It was a drastic difference from beginning to end. At one point I talked to Moe about my role because I didn’t know it toward the beginning of the season. By the end I felt like they had all the faith in the world in me and I had the confidence in myself.”
Parsons was given two assignments in the off-season – work in his control and increase his velocity if he wanted to go from good to great.
Although feeling he did not do as much as he could in the velo department, Parsons still went from throwing 80-82 MPH to 84-86. As for control, he walked as many in 65 innings as he did in 29 last year.
“I think throwing so consistently allowed me to know my release point, my arm slot, and it just came together,” Parsons said. “I was already comfortable pitching at this level so I wasn’t afraid to throw the ball over the plate and let kids hit it.”
Parsons pitched four solid innings in this year’s season opener against Hopewell, which served as a springboard for both himself and the Hornets.
He was at his best in big games. Parsons went 3-0 in the Mercer County Tournament, allowing six runs (just two earned) in 19.1 innings against Lawrence, Pennington and top-seeded Notre Dame. In his lone state appearance, Dylan shut out Hopewell while striking out nine.
Mr. Clutch, indeed.
“I never really get nervous,” Parsons said. “Throwing last year in the state tournament helped a lot. This year I knew I was getting the ball and I knew I had to do the job. It was challenging obviously but I didn’t change anything up, I just had to stick with what I was doing and if I do that it’ll end up working out for me.”
It worked out all right, as the season enabled Parsons to land a spot with the Division III McDaniel College baseball team in Maryland. Because of missing his sophomore year, not pitching much until late in his junior year, and not playing in any showcase tournaments, Dylan was not on college teams’ radar until late.
The College of New Jersey and Rowan showed interest this year before Hornets coach Jim Maher, who is friends with McDaniel coach Jim Carone, reached out to Carone on Parsons behalf.
“It’s a good opportunity,” Parsons said. “They have my major (Criminal Justice with a minor in Forensic Science). He’s a New Jersey guy, he wanted me to come play. I thought why the heck not, it seems like a good opportunity.”
When it comes to the summer, Carone told Parsons not to play any organized ball in order to rest his arm after a heavy spring workload. He will still throw, but not in competitive situations.
Once again, Moceri assigned a to-do list for his graduate.
“To make the jump to the next level he needs to gain a little more velocity, and develop a swing-and-miss change up to left-handed hitters,” Moe said. “His slider is his out pitch against righties, but he needs that dominant out pitch against lefties as well if he wants to be a solid starter in college. With his work ethic, his passion for the game, and his refuse to lose attitude he will develop into a fine college pitcher.”
Suddenly, that Allentown game seems like it was all just a bad mirage.
Hamilton High Senior Dylan Parsons went 9-2 with a 1.52 ERA this season. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
