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Hun Baseball Working on Focus As it Heads Into Home Stretch
By Bill Alden
Having lost two straight coming into last Wednesday's game with visiting Mercersburg Academy, the Hun School baseball team hit the field determined to get back on the right track
The Raiders jumped out to a 7-2 lead but, hurt by some shoddy defense, Hun let Mercersburg back into the contest and headed into its last at-bat with the game knotted at 8-8.
Facing the possibility of seeing its season head south, Hun rallied and won the game on a bases-loaded single by Gene Pavitt.
In reflecting on his team's 9-8 win, Hun head coach Bill McQuade acknowledged that his team had dodged a major bullet.
"We needed that win," asserted McQuade. "I told them afterwards that it could've been devastating if we had blown that lead. We could've gone into a real tailspin."
Still, the Raiders' narrow escape highlighted the problems the squad has had at times with producing fundamentally sound play.
"Errors have been a problem for us," admitted McQuade. "We've made mistakes on routine plays. We huddle up after each inning and keeping focus is what we often talk about. So we're working on that but the pressure of the game can cause those things to happen."
The Raiders are striving to achieve an overall rhythm. "What we're working on is developing some kind of consistency," said McQuade, whose club fell to 6-4 after losing 11-1 to powerful Steinert last Saturday. "On any given day, we can play with anyone. But we've also disintegrated at times."
Ironically, the consistent dominance of junior pitching ace Steve Garrison has proved to be a double-edged sword for Hun
"When Stevie is on the mound, we rise to the occasion," explained McQuade of his star hurler who has a glittering 14-3 career record in his three seasons at Hun. "We need to do that when other people pitch. We need to have that same attitude every game."
McQuade believes his charges possess the right mindset to accomplish that goal. "The kids have an unbelievable attitude," said McQuade. "They want to be successful. They feel that they have let us down when things don't go right."
With Hun facing a crucial stretch of its season with the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) tournament and the Mercer County tourney both on the horizon, McQuade isn't looking for anything fancy from his charges.
"All we ask is that they focus on giving us everything they have," said McQuade, whose club plays in the MAPL tourney on May 8-9. "We've already pulled off some wins that were incredible. We just need to let the chips fall where they may."
