(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) caption: BATTERY CHARGE: The Hun School battery of pitcher Mike Ford, left, and catcher Chris Leach talk things over in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, Ford was in overpowering form, striking out 15 and giving up one hit as Hun blanked Mercersburg Academy 7-0 in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) title game. The Raiders, now 14-3, will go for the state Prep A title this week. The Prep A tourney starts on May 12 and will conclude at Hun on May 15-16.

Sparked by Ford’s Overpowering Mound Effort, Hun Baseball Cruises to MAPL Championship

Bill Alden

As Hun School senior pitcher Mike Ford warmed up last Saturday before taking the mound against visiting Mercersburg Academy in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) championship game, he got the sense that things were going to go well.

“Even in my bullpen today, I knew I was feeling it,” recalled Ford. “You get that extra adrenaline and that does help it out. I could just tell that I was going to be on today.”

Ford was on Saturday, mowing down the first 12 hitters that he faced, striking out eight of them. In the top of the fifth inning, Ford surrendered an infield hit on a close call at first base and walked the next batter and that was it as no other Mercersburg player reached base the rest of the day.

The Hun offense, meanwhile, gave Ford plenty of support as the Raiders cruised to a 7-0 win and improved to 14-3 on the season.

While Ford was thrilled to pitch Hun to the title, he acknowledged that there was a tinge of disappointment in losing the no-hitter.

“It was playing in the back of my head, a perfect game, a no-hitter, even though you try to keep it out of your mind,” said Ford, who ended up with 15 strikeouts on the afternoon.

“What we were going for today was a win and we got it. No matter how many runs they scored, we wanted to score one more.”

After posting a hard-luck 1-6 record last spring as Hun struggled to a 6-14 season, Ford worked hard over the offseason to fine-tune his pitching.

“The big thing is that I am able to throw any pitch for a strike this year on any count,” asserted Ford, who will be playing for the Princeton University baseball team next season.

“I worked a lot this winter with the guys up at Cust [the Jack Cust Baseball Academy in Flemington] and they really helped me a lot with mixing pitches and mixing locations. This year, my team has picked me up and it is easier to focus on hitting.”

The powerfully built Ford has been just as lethal at the plate as on the mound this year, pounding out three hits earlier Saturday to help Hun beat Peddie 7-0 in the MAPL semis.

As Ford looks forward to joining the Princeton program, he hopes to perform double duty for the Tigers.

“I am really focused on the hitting aspect of it too,” said Ford. “Our plan at PU is to do both there; of course, I need to produce and everything. I work on it just as hard as I work on pitching. I take everything very seriously; I love playing everyday.”

Hun head coach Bill McQuade loved the effort he got from Ford on Saturday.

“Mike was just overpowering; he can just take the bat away from you,” said a grinning McQuade, still dripping from the Gatorade shower he received as part of the post-game celebration.

“What sets all of that up is his ability to get the curve ball over the plate. When that curve ball is on, you can’t guess fast ball. He is averaging two strikeouts an inning; that’s an incredible number. It means we only have to catch the ball seven times a game.”

The pitching combination of Ford and Brown-bound post-grad Anthony Galan, who posted a shut out in the win over Peddie earlier Saturday, has set Hun apart this spring.

“They will be the best tandem of pitchers that Hun has ever had,” asserted McQuade, who is his 40th spring guiding the Raiders.

“When you have two pitchers of the caliber of Mike Ford and Anthony Galan, then you know you can compete.”

But it hasn’t been a two-man effort as the rest of the Hun players have shown an ability to compete.

“Everyone has risen to the occasion in different games; that’s what’s great about it,” said McQuade.

“We haven’t had the same guys carrying the team all the time. When someone is struggling it seems like the next guy steps up.”

The Raiders stepped up in the title game as they produced the offense to go with Ford’s pitching.

“We had to manufacture runs and get runs early,” said McQuade. “We had a couple of great innings that we could not have scripted any better in terms of attacking the ball. We attacked the ball at the plate and we ran the bases aggressively.”

Having this spring’s script include a championship left McQuade beaming.

“It means a lot because we struggled last year with virtually the same team,” said McQuade.

“Right now we are winning, I am happy. They have got the smiles on their faces. There are some kids who haven’t been playing much but when you win a championship, that is what they will remember the rest of their lives.”

This week, Hun will be looking to make more lasting memories as it competes in the state Prep A tournament.

“The first message today was to congratulate them and the second one was that we are not done with what we set out to do,” said McQuade, whose team hosts Peddie on May 12 in the opening round of the tournament which will conclude on May 15-16 at the Raiders’ diamond.

“There is still the business at hand, let’s finish and show everybody how good we are. It is a great group of kids to work with; it’s fun working with kids who love playing the game of baseball.”

Ford, for his part, is having plenty of fun this spring. “It is just a great team this year, everyone enjoys playing,” said Ford.

“We have guys that don’t see much time but are as happy as they could be and pick us up. I think that is the difference this year. Last year, we had the skills but we were just young and we were a little nervous. This year we have the experience and the guys to keep us loose.”

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