THE JACK SHOW: Hun School baseball player Jackson Kraemer takes a swing in a game last spring. Senior outfielder/pitcher Kraemer will be looking to have a big final campaign for Raiders. Hun gets its 2022 season underway by playing at the Lawrenceville School on March 24. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Even though the Hun School baseball team is coming off a dominant 2021 season that saw it go 19-2 and win its fifth straight state Prep A title, it is not taking anything for granted heading into this spring.

“Everybody understands how challenging our schedule is so they are definitely not overconfident,” said Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto, whose team gets its 2022 season underway by playing at the Lawrenceville School on March 24.

“They are for sure confident in their abilities and our abilities as a team but also understand that we respect every opponent.”

Coming off a productive preseason trip to Florida in early March, Monfiletto is confident that he has a strong mound corps at his disposal, led by a quintet of seniors in Carson Applegate, Ryan DiMaggio, Carson Wehner, Brody Pasieka and Jackson Kraemer.

“We have five extremely solid starting pitchers that we are very, very happy about in Applegate, DiMaggio, Wehner, Pasieka, and Kraemer,” said Monfiletto.

“They have all gotten much better on the mound in different areas. They are either throwing harder, they are more consistent, their breaking ball is sharper. From every one of those guys, we saw some area of improvement on the mound which is great.”

The Raiders boast a solid defensive unit across the diamond. At catcher, sophomore Mike Smith, who started last season, will be joined by sophomore Deacon Bowne and junior Mike Jolly. DiMaggio will share duties at first base along with sophomore Mike Olender and Jolly with sophomore Tyler Tucker holding down second, Applegate at shortstop, and Wehner at third. Bowne, Olender, and junior Tre Francis could also see time in the infield depending on who is pitching. The outfield is well-stocked with senior Ben Romano starting in left field, Kraemer in center and junior Mike Chiaravallo in right. Olender, Francis, Jolly, and senior Sam Segal could also get some action there. 

Last year, Hun averaged more than eight runs a game and the batting order looks formidable again.

The University of Kentucky-bound Applegate will get things started as he will be hitting leadoff again.

“Carson will get the fire started for sure, he looks locked in at the plate already,” said Monfiletto of Applegate, who hit .561 with 34 runs, 30 stolen bases and 16 RBIs in 2021.

“He is tough hitter to face right out of the gate because he can hit to all fields and he can run very well.”

There will be a group of solid hitters following Applegate “Kraemer, Romano, DiMaggio, Wehner and Chiaravallo will be the meat of the order,” added Monfiletto.

“Mike Smith is much improved at the plate, he can hit the ball extremely far if he gets the right pitch. Deacon did very well offensively in Florida. Tre provides some pop and can run the base really well. Jolly is a very consistent hitter too.”

In order to produce another another championship campaign, the Hun players will need to put in a consistent effort on a daily basis.

“I think having commitment to getting better every day is key,” said Monfiletto. “We have had some success these past few years in 2019 and 2021 but we don’t have any room to rest on that. Our schedule is so relentless that we can’t just rely on that. We have to rely on getting coached, getting better, working hard, and understanding that we are not sneaking up on anybody. People are aware of us. It is an awesome thing. We love being in that place but by no means is it a done deal. We have to earn every bit of recognition that we get.”