JUST FINE: Hun School baseball player Justin Pontrella takes a swing in 2014 action. Last Monday, senior first baseman Pontrella contributed two RBIs as Hun topped Academy of New Church (Pa.) 19-1 in its season opener. In upcoming action, the Raiders play at Blair on April 1 before hosting Lawrenceville on April 2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

As Bill McQuade enters his 45th season guiding the Hun School baseball team, that wealth of experience should come in handy as he looks to utilize the ample supply of talent at his disposal.

“It has been a long, long time since we have had this kind of depth,” said Hun head coach McQuade, who guided the Raiders to an 8-12 record in 2014.

“We have a lot of good players and there is not much difference between them. We need to move the pieces around. We have so many pieces and they all have to buy into it. It is next man in; they have to perform as well as they can so we can move the pieces.”

McQuade has lots of good options when it comes to his mound corps. “We have six, seven, or eight guys who can pitch one, two, or three innings, they can throw strikes and change speeds,” said McQuade.

Senior Jason Applegate, junior Rob Huselid, and junior George Revock figure to be the front line hurlers.

“The starters are Applegate, Huselid, and Revock; we think they can go three, four, five, or six innings,” said McQuade, whose team topped Academy of New Church (Pa.) 19-1 last Monday in its season opener with Applegate getting the win on the mound.

“Jason is looking good; he has got the arm. He is going to Villanova so he can just relax and play the game. He is one of our captains and a 4-year player. He will play outfield when he is not pitching, he is a very good hitter. Robby Huselid has improved so much. He threw sidearm last year and had a good curve. He is 6’6, I suggested that he change his arm slot. He worked hard in the weight room, gained 30 pounds and is coming with a three-quarter delivery and his curve is breaking down hard. He is going to be something now, nothing fazes him, he doesn’t get uptight on the mound. If something bad happens, he just goes on to the next batter. Revock did really well last year.”

The trio of Revock, junior Jordyn Smith, and senior Justin Pontrella will be alternating between first base, pitcher,  and designated hitter.

“Jordyn Smith got bigger and stronger, he can pitch and play first,” said McQuade. “George is left-handed so I like having him at first. Some of the plays there are easier for him. His bat has to be in the lineup. He is thinking about playing in college and he knows it will have to be with his hitting. Pontrella is in the mix. He can pitch, he throws strikes.”

Others in the pitching mix include junior James Werosta, senior Matt Kooker, sophomore Blake Brown, senior Kyle O’Sullivan, and senior Nick Perez.

“Werosta pitched a lot last year; Kooker got some innings,” added McQuade. “They both play in the infield. Blake Brown can play all nine positions. O’Sullivan has been playing with us for four years. He may have been our most effective pitcher on our Florida trip, we threw him after some faster pitchers. He throws strikes and changes speeds. Nick Perez is a shortstop and another team captain. He could be a pitcher, too; he might be our closer. He throws hard and has a good curve.”

Perez will help trigger what figures to be a very good offense. “Brown, Kooker, and Peter Schintzler are at top of order,” said McQuade.

“Perez may be in second or third hole. He was driving the ball in Florida, going gap to gap. Alex Mumme, a junior transfer from Montgomery, was our most consistent hitter in Florida. He played center field and will be in the middle of the order. Revock, Pontrella, and Jordy Smith are also in the middle of the order. Gideon Friedberg will be in there. He hit well in Florida. He is solid, he is going to Franklin & Marshall. He is going to be a key to the team. He has to stay healthy and come up big. We have a lot of youth behind him at catcher.”

McQuade had lots of flexibility in terms of his defense with Smith, Pontrella, and Revock as options at first base, the speedy Schintzler at second, Perez at short, and either Kooker or Werosta at third, and Friedberg holding down the catcher spot. In the outfield, McQuade is looking at Brown, Kooker, Mumme, Applegate, and Evan Barratt.

In order to have a big spring, the Raiders need to take care of the basics.

“The pitchers have to do a good job of throwing strikes and keeping guys off the bases,” said McQuade, whose team plays at Blair on April 1 before hosting Lawrenceville on April 2.

“We need to catch the ball in the field. I think we will hit the ball, we don’t have power hitters but we have a lot of guys who make contact. We have talent.”