IN CONTACT: Hun School baseball player Tyler Tucker hits the ball in a 2022 game. Last Thursday, Tucker went 1 for 3 with one RBI in a losing cause as Hun fell 23-7 to Bergen Catholic. The Raiders, who moved to 5-4 with the setback, play at the Hill School (Pa.) on April 21, host the Blair Academy on April 22, and Allentown on April 24 and then play at the Lawrenceville School on April 25. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

In 2022, the Hun School baseball team ended April with a 12-1 record on the way to going 20-4 and winning the program’s first-ever Mercer County Tournament title.

With a stellar group of seniors having departed after driving that success, Hun figured to experience some growing pains this spring as it went with several new faces.

Last Thursday, the Raiders experienced a painful defeat as they fell 23-7 to Bergen Catholic. Hun trailed 8-0 after the first inning and found itself down 18-0 in the third inning before scoring four runs in the bottom of the third and three in the fourth.

“The message is we still have the whole season ahead of us — we have three things, we have a Mercer County Tournament, we have a Prep A tournament, and we have our MAPL (Mid-Atlantic Prep League) schedule, so everything is ahead of us,” said Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto, whose squad moved to 5-4 with the defeat.

“To play the onslaught of really good teams that we have played will make us better. We have to be able to take the positives of each game, piece it together each game and bring the same amount of intensity every day in practice and then we will have success.”

Monfiletto did see some positives in the way Hun plated seven runs after falling so far behind.

“I liked how some of the guys battled and competed,” said Monfiletto, who got three RBIs from Mike Smith against Bergen Catholic with Tyler Tucker, Charles Batista, William Kraemer, Gabe Jacknow, and E.J. Balewitz each knocking in one run. “We saw some good swings out of some of our guys against their No. 1. I was happy about that.”

Reflecting on Hun’s 5-4 start, Monfiletto acknowledges that his team hasn’t found a rhythm.

“It has definitely been up and down, we want consistency in our play during games,” said Monfiletto. “We have to have more consistency during practice, that is as simple as it gets. We need to maintain consistency during practice and have consistency during games.”

With the Raiders hitting .279 as a team, Monfiletto is upbeat about the Hun offense.

“Kraemer has been swinging the bat really well, Mike Jolly has been swinging the bat really well, he has been getting on base,” said Monfiletto. “Tyler is fighting himself out of a little slump in the beginning to the year which I am happy with. [Mike] Chiaravallo has been pretty consistent. He is the focal point in our lineup for opponents. He is ready for that challenge and has been great for us so far.”

As for the team’s mound staff, Monfiletto acknowledges that is a work in process.

“We are still trying to find who the most reliable guys are on a consistent basis,” said Monfiletto. “We have had seen great performances. Kerrick [Shannon] last week was incredible, he threw a no-hitter against Peddie. Charlie Batista against LaSalle was amazing. Jackson Bailey in our first game against Lawrenceville was outstanding. Ryan Greenstein and Mike Chiaravallo were both excellent against Gloucester Catholic. We have seen some good stuff — we just have to continue to put it together in tough games.”

Monfiletto, for his part, likes the mental toughness displayed by his players as they have dealt with the up-and-down play this spring.

“The one thing that I will say that I am proud of how they act like men when they lose,” said Monfiletto. “They don’t point fingers; they don’t make excuses. They own it and then move on.”