SPLIT DECISION: Hun School baseball player Alex Mumme follows through on a swing in recent action. Last Saturday, senior outfielder Mumme went 1-for-4 with a run to help Hun defeat Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) 6-2 as the Raiders salvaged a split in a doubleheader with the Blue Storm after falling 4-1 in the opener. Hun, now 8-4, plays at Hill School (Pa.) on April 27 before hosting Blair Academy on April 30 and Peddie on May 3. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Displaying the nose for the ball that has made him a star receiver on the football field, Luke Apuzzi has turned heads this spring, coming up with a number of circus catches in center field for the Hun School baseball team.

“Playing football helps out in the outfield,” said Hun senior Apuzzi, who is headed to Williams College this fall where he will play for its football program.

“I just try to track everything down and do the best I can to make every play.”

Last Saturday, though, it was Apuzzi’s work with the bat that stood out as Hun split a doubleheader with visiting Mercersburg Academy (Pa.).

In the first game, the center fielder contributed a ground-rule double in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Raiders unsuccessfully tried to overcome a three-run deficit in a 4-1 loss. In the second game, he hit two straight doubles to help Hun jump out to a 3-0 lead as it went on to a 6-2 win and improved to 8-4.

“Lately, I have not had my best times at the plate,” said Apuzzi. “After today, I have gained some confidence for sure and hopefully I can carry that over to the later games.”

In Apuzzi’s view, Hun’s good finish in the opener set the tone for the nightcap.

“We finished strong in the first game and to carry that over to the second game was definitely important,” said Apuzzi.

“The middle of the order was able to get me home twice after those two doubles so that was big to get out to that early lead. Robby Huselid did a great job pitching to maintain that lead.”

Apuzzi, who transferred to Hun from Lawrenceville last fall, is having fun in his final season on the diamond.

“In prior years, I had been very tense during baseball season and this year I have tried to relax as much as I could and just enjoy this,” said Apuzzi.

Hun head coach Bill McQuade enjoyed see his team earn the split against the Blue Storm.

“We were flat in the first game, maybe we hyped the games too much with the kids the last couple of days in practice,” said McQuade.

“Perhaps they just came out a little tight and maybe they had something to do with it. If you are a little flat and you don’t score or do something well in the first couple of innings then you get tight and try harder. In the second game, they lightened up a little bit and we hit the ball harder.”

Apuzzi’s hitting certainly gave Hun a lift. “He has been streaky but when he is on a hot streak, the ball just jumps off his bat and he is a sparkplug,” said McQuade.

“He ignites the offense because behind him you have James Werosta, Alex Mumme, and Jordy Smith, who is seeing the bat really well.”

Hun got a big two-run homer from Smith in the seventh inning as the senior first baseman went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the game.

“Just in the first game when it was 2-1, we had scored, even though we got in on two gifts by their defense, they knew we were coming,” said McQuade.

“They were ready to take their kid out and then we gave them two or three more runs and it took the starch out of us. It was the same thing in the second game when that ball went out. It means that E.J. LoCascio’s first appearance for us here was a lot less pressure-packed. He went out there and really showed all of us that he can be a help in this remaining stretch for us.”

Senior starting pitcher Huselid showed his savvy, giving up two runs with five strikeouts in six innings of work.

“He pitched well, he is such a talented young man,” said McQuade, noting that Huselid was heading to a choral competition after the game.

“We didn’t win the first one and here he is, he goes out there and gives us six great innings. He is around the plate, he keeps people off balance. He is smart, he is a super honor roll student. He is always thinking.”

The way Hun came through to end Saturday has McQuade thinking his club can do some big things down the stretch of the season.

“When we play the way we played the second game, we can play with anyone,” asserted McQuade.

“I think we are coming. James Werosta is a workhorse, he will give you 110 percent in everything he does so we feel good about where he is. Mike Pedota threw a terrific ball game the other day and now if E.J. is ready and his arm is healthy and he can give us the work what a huge help that is going to be as we enter our prep tournament.”

In Apuzzi’s view, the team’s good chemistry will also be a big help in crunch time. “We are playing well,” added Apuzzi. “We are a close knit team and I think that can carry us a long way.”