BY DONALD HUNT
PRINCETON, NJ-- When it comes to playing baseball, Scott Bandura really knows how to play the game. Bandura, a former standout at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, plays right field for Princeton University.
Bandura, a 6-4, 190-pound junior, leads the Ivy League in hitting with a .419 batting average. He also has 54 hits, eight home runs and 35 RBIs. He came into this season healthy and well-prepared to play the game, which is a big reason why he has played so well.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Bandura said. “I missed pretty much all of last year with a hamstring injury. I was just itching to get back on the field this year. I was just getting myself healthy. I’m having somewhat of a breakout year.
“This is my first full college season as a junior. It’s just all about preparation coming into the season getting ready and since school the work has paid off. My first year we didn’t play because of COVID. My second year I was hurt.
“It’s all about preparation. I have a hitting coach back home in Philly who actually just moved to King of Prussia his name is Dan Hennigan. He runs a facility [Brain & Barrel]. I’ve been hitting with Dan since my sophomore year in high school. As a high school sophomore, I was super small and skinny. Since then, I’ve grown a ton and he’s been there every step of the way. He’s kind of created a plan to maximize the tool set that I have. I give all the credit to him.”
Scott Bandura In game vs. Seton Hall (Photo/ Princeton University Athletics)
Bandura’s success goes back to the foundation his father, Steve Bandura provided for him and so many other youngsters at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center, 17th and Christian Streets, where he played for the Anderson Monarchs. Steve is the founder and coach of the youth baseball team at the South Philadelphia recreation center. A few weeks ago, when Princeton played Penn in an Ivy League contest his father brought some of the players from the current Monarchs’ team to the game.
“It’s really remarkable what he has been able to do over the past 30 or so years,” Bandura said. “He spends every waking moment dedicated to create the best pathway for his players to play as long as they can and go to college and really just learn about life.
“It makes me proud when I go back there. We played Penn and he brought a bunch of kids to the game. They were all wearing orange and black Monarch shirts with my number [7] on the back. It was really special. They really made me proud of what he has done over there.”
The Anderson Monarchs are just one of the highlights of his baseball career. He played for the Taney Little League that featured star pitcher Mo’ne Davis made a trip to the 2014 Little League World Series. He was an All-Inter-Ac League selection and helped Springside Chestnut Hill Academy win the league championship in 2019.
“A lot of us went to high school together,” he said. “There’s a pretty decent handful of us playing college baseball. Whenever we’re home from breaks and stuff, we all work out together. We go back to Anderson [Recreation Center] and get out workouts in there. It’s as tight knit a group as you’ll find. We all been together since we were five, six, seven eight years old and that bond hasn’t really gone away.”
Princeton's Scott Bandura helped secure Inter-Ac League Championship in 2019 for Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. (Photo by James Quinn)
Princeton (14-17 overall, 7-5 league) is making a push for the ivy League playoffs. Princeton is tied for fourth place with yale in the league standings. The Tigers are hoping to land a spot in the playoffs.
“The top four teams in the Ivy League make the Ivy League championship series,” Bandura said. “It’s a four-team double elimination tournament whoever wins that gets a bid into the NCAA Regionals. We want to be in the top of the Ivy League to put ourselves in a position to win that tournament.”
Princeton should have that with Scott Bandura, the league’s leading hitter.