(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: BACK IN THE SWING: Hun School senior second baseman Steve Giannacio takes a cut in recent action. The return of Giannacio, who didn’t play baseball last spring to focus on soccer, has given Hun a lift this spring. The Raiders, 7-2, host Princeton Day School on April 23 and have a home doubleheader with Mercersburg Academy before playing at WW/P-N on April 28.

With Giannacio Back in the Swing, Hun Baseball Looking Solid Again

Bill Alden

After taking a sabbatical from baseball last season, Hun School senior second baseman Steve Giannacio was a bit out of synch upon his return to the diamond this spring.

“In the beginning in spring training, I was a little rusty but that really helped me get back to full strength,” said Giannacio, a soccer star who focused on that sport last spring.

It hasn’t taken long for the gritty Giannacio to make a strong contribution for Hun, sparking the raiders from the No. 2 batting spot in the order as they have gotten off to a 7-2 start.

Giannacio enjoys his spot in the order, hitting behind Mel Williams, a superb tablesetter who set a program record for runs scored last season.

“Mel is a great lead-off hitter, so once he gets on base, I just try to get him over,” said Giannacio, who plans to play soccer at the college level and is considering Drew and Muhlenberg.

“I hit to the right side, wherever I see the hole, I try to put the ball there. I think where I am now feels pretty good.”

Last Thursday, Giannacio and his teammates didn’t feel so good as they fell 4-1 at Hamilton to suffer their first loss of the season after seven straight wins.

“We didn’t have really great at-bats,” said Giannacio, who knocked in Hun’s lone run of the day.

“We were swinging at bad pitches, looking at good pitches. We were hitting really well. I guess you got to figure one of these times you are going to run into a slump.”

Hun head coach Bill McQuade doesn’t think that the Raiders are going to get into extended slumps with a catalyst like Giannacio back in the lineup.

“That little Stevie G. has been a sparkplug for us, I can’t say enough about what he has done offensively,” asserted McQuade, whose team fell 7-1 to Blair last Saturday to move to 7-2 on the season.

“He took off his junior season and came back this year. He doesn’t play ball in the summer. If he had played last year, who knows how he would be playing.”

In assessing the loss to Hamilton, McQuade said his team was fatigued from a long game at Hill the day before which saw the Raiders hang on for a 9-7 win.

“We have been playing well, we had a long game yesterday and got back late,” said McQuade.

“Offensively it was just a bad showing. We went up there very tentative. He [Hamilton pitcher Richard Nuel] had great location today. I thought we could’ve gotten to him but the bats looked lethargic. We didn’t get good swings at him. When he got his breaking ball going in the third inning, he was very tough on us.”

The one silver lining in the loss to Hamilton was the pitching work of Anthony Freda and Nick Couvelier.

“We needed Freda to pitch and it was Nick’s first time in a ballgame,” said McQuade. “They did their job. Now we know we can put in Anthony and Nick and trust them on the mound. This is good. Until we get Mike Ford back, which won’t be until late in the season, these guys have to step up and do it.”

McQuade needs that flexibility as he looks to judiciously use senior stars N.C. State-bound Mike Russo and Duke-bound David Putman at the top of his rotation.

“I’m not going to overthrow them; having them come in every other day for three or four innings and wear them out,” added McQuade, whose team hosts Princeton Day School on April 23 and has a home doubleheader with Mercersburg Academy before playing at WW/P-N on April 28.

“They are going to pitch in their rotation; I’m not going to do something that is going to hurt them down the road. They have a career ahead of them; they’ll pitch on their normal routine.”

Giannacio, for his part, believes that Hun can get back into the winning routine.

“I think this is a bump in the road,” said Giannacio. “The closer the games get, the more tired you get. A lot of guys looked a little tired but we will be back to where we were.”

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