BIG KAT: Hun School softball player Kat Xiong makes contact in recent action. Sophomore outfielder Xiong has emerged as a catalyst for Hun at the leadoff spot with the Raiders having piled up 59 runs in winning their last four games. Hun, now 7-1, plays at Newark Academy on May 5, hosts Montgomery High on May 7, and then plays at Lawrenceville School on May 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Coming into this spring, Kathy Quirk feared that her Hun School softball team might be offensively challenged.

“I did not think this was going to be a hitting team,” said Hun head coach Quirk.

Quirk’s concerns seemed merited in mid-April when Hun edged Blair 1-0 and then fell 4-0 to Lawrenceville.

But after getting blanked by the Big Red, Hun has gone on a hitting spree since, piling up 59 runs in reeling off a four-game winning streak.

Hun’s offensive production has come as a pleasant surprise to Quirk.

“I knew there were going to be a few girls who hit the ball but I did not think that we were going to hit like we have been hitting,” said Quirk.

In Quirk’s view, a daily diligence has led to the batting barrage.

“We have just really been working hard on our batting every single day,” said Quirk. “We do a lot of tee work, we hit off the machine, and we flip toss.”

Sophomore outfielder Kat Xiong has emerged as a catalyst for the squad.

“She is our leadoff hitter and if she gets on, she just seems to set the tone for everyone,” said Quirk of Xiong who went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI on a 13-0 win over Peddie on May 27 and had four hits, a homer, three runs and three RBIs in a 15-8 victory over Penn Charter (Pa.) on April 24.

“She had a home run at Penn Charter over the fence, she has been dying to do that. I didn’t get to see much of her last year, she has really started to progress as a nice little player.”

Looking to put together a solid final campaign, senior catcher Hanna Babuschak has also caught fire.

“Hanna has come out of her slump,” said Quirk. “We worked with her the Friday before Penn Charter and she just pounded the ball.”

Players throughout the Hun batting order are pounding the ball. “They have all been hitting, it has just been nice; it is a contagious thing when one hits, they all seem to hit,” said Quirk, noting that freshman Lexi Kobryn, freshman Jamie Staub, junior Katie Angelini, and junior Nora Shea, among others, have all been producing with the bat.

With Hun playing at Newark Academy on May 5, hosting Montgomery High on May 7, and then playing at Lawrenceville School on May 10, Quirk is hoping her players will keep the hits coming.

“Our focus has to stay with strong bats, especially playing Montgomery and Lawrenceville,” said Quirk, noting that the state Prep A tournament will be starting in mid-May.

“We can’t have the strikeouts that we had before and we are not having them. I am just hoping that we can continue with the positive attitude and keep making progress.”