BRINGING THE HEAT: Hun School pitcher Asher DeLue fires a pitch in a 2024 game. Last Thursday, junior DeLue produced a superb effort in a 4-1 victory over Lawrenceville, going five innings with eight strikeouts to get the win on the mound. The Raiders, who fell 8-2 to Christian Brothers Academy last Monday in moving to 6-2, play at Pennington on April 17 and have a doubleheader at the Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) on April 19. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)

By Bill Alden

After pitching just 12 innings for the Hun School baseball team last year, Asher DeLue focused on pumping iron over the offseason in an effort to make a greater impact on the mound this spring.

“It was definitely putting in a lot of work in the weight room,” said junior DeLue. “Team lifts with the guys were great, we do that all winter. Playing club was great but the biggest thing was getting into the weight room and getting stronger.”

Getting off to a strong start this season, 6’4, 215-pound lefty DeLue has developed into an ace on the Hun mound staff. In his first outing, DeLue went three innings to get the win as Hun defeated Lawrenceville 11-4, getting nine strikeouts and giving up just two hits,

Last Thursday in a rematch with the Big Red, DeLue produced a superb effort in a 4-1 victory, going five innings with eight strikeouts to get the win on the mound.

“It was just go back and attack — last time I went out there and was throwing first pitch strikes,” said DeLue. “That was my main focus today, get ahead in counts. I was throwing fastballs away, just getting the pitch setup for my offspeed.”

In the bottom of the fourth inning with game tied at 1-1, DeLue had to pitch out of a jam as Lawrenceville got two singles and had runners on second and third with two outs. DeLue got a strikeout to retire the Big Red without a run coming across in the frame.

“That was big, the main focus is I have got to get this guy,” recalled DeLue.“It was a big moment, this either makes or breaks the outing, makes or breaks the game. It was pretty important there. I just focused in on that hitter to get him.”

DeLue is excited to take a bigger role. “I owe it to the team to help us out as much as possible,” said DeLue, who now has a 2.10 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 10 innings.

Looking ahead, DeLue will be joining a new team in a couple of years as he committed to attend Boston College and play for its baseball program.

“I was looking at a few other schools but BC just really stood out for me,”said DeLue. “I was there on a visit and I loved the place. I love the coaches too, they are great people. It just felt like a really good fit.”

Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto was expecting a great fight in the rematch with the Big Red.

“The second time we play them, it is always a battle,” said Monfiletto.

The rivals were knotted 1-1 heading into the fifth until John Rossman blasted a homer over the 390 sign in center field to lead off the inning and the Raiders added two more runs in the frame.

After DeLue left the game, Will Sassman retired Lawrenceville in order in the sixth and Kerrick Shannon followed suit in the seventh.

“Their pitcher (Chris Trucano) is outstanding. I love watching him pitch and I have a ton of respect for him,” said Monfiletto. “I was really happy with the way that our guys pitched as well. I thought Asher was excellent, this was probably his best outing of the year. Will was excellent and then Kerrick looked great.”

Monfiletto credited DeLue with consistently giving the Raiders excellent work on the mound this spring.

“We have always seen how great he can be,” said Monfiletto. “He has put in an unbelievable amount of work from last year to this year. He is a completely new pitcher. He has gotten better literally every single outing. We wanted to keep him around 70 pitches and I think he finished around there. To get through five innings with that is all we could ask for.”

Rossman’s homer gave Hun a great spark. “That was huge, he just missed the last couple,” said Monfiletto. “I could tell that his timing was great. I could tell that he was due for something big. I didn’t think it was going to be a home run. John is pound for pound the strongest player on our team. It was nice to see the ball leave the yard there.”

Senior shortstop and Pepperdine commit Will Kraemer starred with his bat and glove against Lawrenceville, going 2 for 3 with a run and making some sparkling plays in the field.

“Will has been outstanding, he has been our rock, he really has,” said Monfiletto of Kraemer, who is batting .458 with nine runs and six RBIs. “It has been such a blessing to have him at shortstop and in the front of our order. He is the catalyst. He is a breath of fresh air for everybody which is awesome. He is like the heart and soul of the team.”

In the win over the Big Red, junior standout TJ Francis proved to be another catalyst, going 2 for 3 with two runs.

“TJ has always been a spark plug,” said Monfiletto of Francis, who is now hitting .375 with eight runs and four RBIs. “Having him in the cleanup spot is unique because he can steal two bases every single time that he is on the bases but he is also a pretty disciplined hitter. He has been driving in a lot of runs for us and is very dangerous at the plate too. He is very versatile.”

While Monfiletto is happy with how the Raiders have started this spring, he knows there is plenty of room for growth.

“I will say that we have a lot of work to do,” said Monfiletto, whose team fell 8-2 to Christian Brothers Academy last Monday in moving to 6-2 and plays at Pennington on April 17 and has a doubleheader at Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) on April 19. “The record is nice but we also evaluate every game on how well we play and how well we execute what we prepare for during the practice. Today was OK in terms of execution. When you have a pitcher who throws like Chris threw today, it is hard to get baserunners. I am happy that we have started strong. We have a really tough slate next week and then the schedule is only going to get harder so it will be fun.”

DeLue, for his part, is having fun getting more work on the mound.

“We are young but there are definitely a lot of guys out there who really want it,” said DeLue. “It is great to be out there with a group of guys who want it as bad as you do.”