(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) MOON SHOT: Hun School baseball player Will Mooney prepares to fire the ball in action last season. With Hun having suffered heavy graduation losses, the Raiders will be looking for junior Mooney to step up in the field and at the plate. Hun opened the spring by losing 9-4 to Peddie last Monday. The Raiders will look to get on the winning track when they play at the Lawrenceville School on April 2 and then host St. Luke’s on April 4.

Suffering Heavy Graduation Losses, Hun Baseball Faces Bumps in the Road

Bill Alden

Bill McQuade is entering his 39th season at the helm of the Hun School baseball team and he will need to utilize every bit of his considerable experience this spring.

With Hun having lost 11 players to graduation from a program that has won two straight state Prep A titles, McQuade faces quite a teaching job as he presides over a youth movement.

“The practices are fun,” said McQuade, whose team went 13-8 last spring in riding a late surge to the Prep A title.

“The last few years we had guys like Mike Russo, Mel Williams, and Andrew Baxter and you could just write them into the lineup and you knew what you had. This year, I am doing a lot of teaching. We are working on the basics, like when do you take a lead, when do you run, where do you throw.”

Hun does boast two very good throwers leading its mound corps in junior Mike Ford and senior Nick Couvelier.

“When Mike and Nick pitch, we can play with anyone,” said McQuade, whose team struggled in its 2009 opener as it fell 9-4 at Peddie last Monday.

“Ford is a big-time legit pitcher; the pro scouts and college coaches are already looking at him. Nick is 6’10 and he is throwing strikes at 85-88 m.p.h.”

Hun’s hopes for a big season, though, could depend on the rest of its pitchers who will include junior Will Mooney, freshman Dave Dudeck, junior Ryan Samuels, and junior Robert Valisko.

“How we do will come down to how the other guys pitch,” said McQuade.

“We need them to throw strikes and give us one or two good innings when they come in to pitch. They need to keep the ball low and change speeds.”

Speed will be a big part of the Raider hitting approach this spring. “We have a little more speed than in the past,” said McQuade. “We need to manufacture runs, we will be playing more little ball.”

McQuade sees juniors Pat Andrews and Brendan Dudeck as key tablesetters for the Raiders. Ford, Mooney and Lawrenceville transfer Satoshi Kii should provide punch in the middle of the lineup.

“Pat has shown improvement; he is a switch-hitter now,” said McQuade.

“He and Brendan need to get on base. Ford is a key person, we need to protect him in the lineup. Last year we had Russo hitting behind him and Williams batting leadoff. This year we have Kii behind him. Mooney has had a good batting season so far, he has improved dramatically. He has gotten much stronger and faster.”

McQuade is confident that the team will be strong defensively. He will go with Andrews and sophomore Chris Leach at catcher with Ford and Mooney sharing time at first base and third base, Brendan Dudeck at second, and sophomore Mark Rende at shortstop. The outfield will feature freshman Ron Sassa in center with Kii and junior Julian Dandridge at the corner spots.

“They need to play well behind all the pitchers,” said McQuade in assessing his team’s defensive play.

“When Ford and Couvelier pitch, they seem to play better. I need to get them to believe in the other guys when they pitch.”

The upbeat McQuade believes his hands-on teaching could bear fruit this spring.

“I think if it all comes together, we can be a good team,” asserted McQuade, whose team will look to get on the winning track when it plays at the Lawrenceville School on April 2 and then hosts St. Luke’s on April 4.

“There are going to be times when we struggle; we are going to have lulls when we are short of pitching. The young kids have to come through.”

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