IRON MIKE: Hun School baseball player Mike Olender heads to first base in a 2023 game. Last Saturday, senior outfielder Olender scored a run and had one RBI to help Hun defeat the Blair Academy 12-0. The Raiders, now 8-2, play at the Hill School (Pa.) on April 24 before hosting the Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) for a doubleheader in April 27 and then hosting Poly Prep (N.Y.) on April 30. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

It was a smooth ride for the Hun School baseball team in the first two weeks of the season as it posted six straight wins to start its 2024 campaign.

But Hun hit some bumps last week as it fell 10-3 to Gloucester Catholic on April 14 and then lost 13-0 to Perkiomen School (Pa.) two days later.

In reflecting on the defeat to Perkiomen, Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto acknowledged that his squad needed to step up against high-level teams.

“We just need to compete a little more and a little bit better when we face really good competition because our schedule is loaded with really good competition,” said Monfiletto.

In the wake of the Perkiomen game, Hun competed hard as it got back on the winning track by edging the Pennington School 2-1 last Thursday and then routed the Blair Academy 12-0 last Saturday to improve to 8-2.

The trio of senior Ryan Greenstein, senior Lucas Henderson, and post-graduate Sam Wright has been giving Hun some really good pitching so far this spring.

“Greeny had a couple outings that have been great,” said Monfiletto of Greenstein.

“He threw five innings against Peddie and was excellent last week when he closed a game down in D.C. We are going to keep going to him. Hendy has been great. He had two starts against Lawrenceville and he came in and closed the game out against Landon in D.C. He will get the ball soon too. Sam struggled against Gloucester. His first outing down in D.C. against Landon was outstanding. I think he threw five innings and struck out 10 and was lights out. We know what he is capable of, he is going to be one of our horses for sure.”

Senior Charlie Batista, senior Mike Olender, junior Will Kraemer, senior Deacon Bowne, and junior Nico Amecangelo have been providing some excellent hitting to spark the Hun offense.

“Charlie has been hitting the ball to all fields, he is becoming much more of a complete hitter,” said Monfiletto.

“Olender has been doing a really great job. Kraemer has had some good hits, Deacon has been really solid for us offensively. Nico had a couple of hits against Gloucester and he had three hits against Peddie.”

With Hun playing at the Hill School (Pa.) on April 24 before hosting the Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) for a doubleheader in April 27 and then hosting Poly Prep (N.Y. ) on April 30, Monfiletto is looking for the Raiders to show a greater sense of urgency.

“I think we need to approach every game the same way, we need to treat every single game as though it is the most important game of the season,” said Monfiletto.

“When you do that you have to be careful to not put too much pressure on guys. These games mean a lot to them, I don’t have to convince them that it has to mean more. I think a consistent approach to every game is what is going to be really important for us, no matter who we play.”