ON A ROLL: Hun School baseball player Ben Romano takes big cut in recent action. Last Thursday, senior star Romano went 2 for 3 with two runs to help Hun defeat Seton Hall Prep 5-1. The Raiders, who defeated Lawrenceville 14-2 last Monday to improve to 10-1, host Steinert on April 30 and play at Don Bosco on May 1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As Ben Romano stepped to the plate for the Hun School baseball team in the first inning last Thursday against Seton Hall Prep, he was looking to keep things simple.

“Usually I get my first pitch fastball and I just take that up the middle,” said Romano. “I just keep that approach every single time at the plate and that is what I did. It gets us started.”

Utilizing that approach, Romano lined a single up the middle, stole second and third and then came home on a two-run homer by Mike Chiaravallo as Hun went up 2-0.

In the third inning, Romano got things started again, ripping a double and scoring on a single by Jackson Kraemer.

“Again it was a first pitch fastball, I just tried to do what I can with it and stay in the middle,” recalled Romano. “I was fortunate enough to put it in the gap, get on second base and get on scoring position. Kraemer got a nice hit to get me in.”

Hun went on to add two more runs as it prevailed 5-1, earning an impressive victory over a perennial powerhouse.

“It was another game that was circled on our calendar, they obviously had a lot of good players,” said Romano of the matchup. “They had a lot of good arms, we were looking forward to this one. Luckily, we came out with a win today. I thought we played exceptionally on offense and the defense was amazing. We made two double plays.”

The Raiders showed the depth of their batting order as Michael Jolly added an RBI and Carson Wehner went 2-for-3.

“We train for it all year, I feel like we are built for everything and any arm that can be thrown against us, velocity, non-velo movement,” said Romano. “I feel like we can handle it all, we work on that at practice.”

In the wake of losing to Peddie 4-1 on April 5, its only loss so far, Hun has been rolling since that setback.

“Coach [Tom] Monfiletto said earlier in the season you never want to peak at the first game, you want to peak when May starts and it is time for the playoffs and everything,” said Romano of Hun, which defeated Lawrenceville 14-2 last Monday to improve to 10-1 and post its sixth straight win.

“We just try to keep that same mentality, we try not to get too up or too down.”

With Romano hitting .467 with 13 runs and a team-high 14 hits, that mentality is paying dividends.

“For me, I always feel there is room for improvement,” said Romano. “I think it is just keeping that same approach and just keep hitting it up the middle. That is my game.”

Romano has been thrived with a move to the number two spot in the Hun batting order, following lead-off hitter Carson Applegate.

“I was hitting in the four spot,” said Romano. “Having Carson and me at the top of the lineup is a cool deal.”

While Romano is also a star receiver for the Hun football team, he realized his future is on the diamond and has committed to attend Tulane University and play for its baseball program.

“My whole life, I always wanted to play college football,” said Romano. “It is always a ton of fun but when it came down to it, I just wanted to play baseball. I had a wide range of recruitment but when I talked to coach [Travis] Jewett and I got down to New Orleans, I fell in love with it. That was the spot for me.”

Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto is glad that Romano has focused on baseball.

“Ben is having a phenomenal year, he is such an incredible hitter and is such an unbelievable athlete,” said Monfiletto. “He is so fun to coach but the most fun part about coaching him is his energy. He does that in practice too. He is a ball of energy. He is hilarious and has an incredible personality that is infectious and engaging. He is a very, very solid young man.”

Junior star Chiaravallo is emerging as a solid power hitter for the Raiders.

“He has been seeing the ball really, really well, that homer was a bomb,” said Monfiletto of Chiaravallo, who has smacked a team-high five homers so far this spring.

“He has been hitting really well and really consistently,” said Monfiletto. “In practice too, you see it too. He is another really, really good athlete. He is really explosive and strong. He works his butt off and it is fun to see it come to fruition this season.”

The  Hun pitchers had to work hard in the win over Seton Hall Prep as starter Ryan DiMaggio went four innings with four strikeouts and four walks and was relieved by Wehner, who went two innings, with Applegate coming on in the seventh to close the deal.

“They are just an awesome team, there is no room to breathe in their lineup,” said Monfiletto of Seton Hall Prep.

“Ryan just wasn’t as consistent as we are normally used to which is fine. It was still good enough to beat one of the best teams in the state. He just relied on his defense. Because they have played so well this year, he has the luxury of just being able to throw strikes and let the guys behind him do the work.”

In Monfiletto’s view, his players have bounced back well after falling to Peddie.

“The loss to Peddie was a humbling experience, that wasn’t a fluke, they beat us,” said Monfiletto, whose team hosts Steinert on April 30 and play at Don Bosco on May 1. “We have been pretty focused since then. The pitching has been great, defense has been good and we have been putting some good swings on balls so it is good.”

Romano, for his part, is focused on making the most out of his final spring for Hun.

“I think the most important thing is just taking one game at a time, just cherishing every moment with coach Mono, coach [Steve] Garrison, and my classmates,” said Romano. “I feel like this senior class is really tight as a group. We are just taking in every moment as we can.”=