SENIOR WEEKS: Downingtown East’s Ferguson was part of 3-pronged attack hoping to go all the way

When you have a chance to make a legacy and leave lasting impression on a athletic program, it hurts even more when that opportunity is dashed before you even get a chance to start the process.

That is pretty much the feeling around Downingtown East baseball this season.

On April 9, the PIAA cancelled the 2020 baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Cougars’ hopes of winning a district and state title were squashed along with it.

The main reason for such lofty optimism were three star pitchers: Dave Owsik, Grant Umberger and David Ferguson. All were headed to Division 1 schools in the fall, and formed possibly the best scholastic pitching staff in the state.

“It is really sad that our chance to leave a lasting impression on our school will not be able to happen,” Ferguson said. “I was staying hopeful for a season but then when the announcement came down that it was off, I said ‘Okay, let me focus on the American Legion season.’ Then, a few days later, they called that off too. It was the last chance I had to play baseball with my friends and it is upsetting that I will never get that chance again.”

Last season, Downingtown East rode its pitching trio to the second round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament, and big things were expected this season with all three back on the hill. Ferguson was definitely trying to prepare for a very successful campaign.

“I was really trying to stay in shape,” Ferguson said. “I set up weights in my garage and was working out pretty hard. I also was running every day and throwing with my dad. I really felt we were going to get a season in and we had the talent to do something special for the school. And, I think I feel worse for the kids that this would have been their last chance at playing organized baseball. I mean, I will pitch in college but for some guys this was going to be it. It is a crazy time with us being out of school and all and when baseball was taken away it was really sad.”

Like his two Downingtown East teammates, Ferguson was highly sought after by many colleges. Eventually he decided to attend the University of Pittsburgh next fall and he could not be happier about his college decision.

“I said the same thing our new head coach said, ‘Why not Pitt?’ That is how I feel,” Ferguson said. “I have a chance to be part of a team that can turn things around at the school. And it is in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the top league in the country, and I always wanted to play in the ACC. And another good thing was that it is a very good academic school and the combination of academics and athletics was a great fit for me. I visited a lot of schools and some other ACC schools too and I felt the most wanted at Pittsburgh.

“Plus, it is close enough to home where my parents can come see me play and I know I always wanted to go to college in a city environment and the University of Pittsburgh affords me that,” Ferguson said. “I am really excited about going there. I just wish we would have had a senior season at East because I felt we had the chance to really go far this season. And also, it would have been special to do that with my friends and teammates.”