HAVING A BLAST: Hun School baseball player E.J. Balewitz makes contact in the Mercer County Tournament final last Thursday at Trenton Thunder Ballpark as second-seeded Hun defeated top-seeded Lawrence 10-2 to win the title. Senior catcher Balewitz, who blasted a walk-off homer as Hun edged Robbinsville 5-4 in the MCT semis, helped Hun end the season with the Prep A state title as it defeated Lawrenceville 8-7 in the final round of the double-elimination competition last Saturday. The Raiders, who finished the spring with a 20-5 record, became the first team in program history to win the MAPL (Mid-Atlantic Prep League) title, MCT crown, and Prep A championship in the same season. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)

By Bill Alden

From May 11-18, the Hun School baseball team faced a playoff gauntlet as it competed in both the Mercer County Tournament and Prep A state tourney.

Rising to the occasion and getting contributions throughout its roster, Hun ran the table, going 3-0 in the MCT on the way to winning its second county crown in three years and 3-0 in the Prep A as it earned its second straight title in the competition.

In so doing, this Hun squad, which had already won the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) championship, became the first team in program history to win all three titles in the same season.

In reflecting on the grueling stretch of games, Hun senior catcher E.J. Balewitz enjoyed the challenge of the high-level competition.

\“It has been amazing,” said Balewitz. “It is a lot of baseball, a lot of good baseball and a lot of close baseball too. It is exciting.”

In the MCT, second-seeded Hun pulled out some dramatic wins, edging seventh-seeded Notre Dame 2-1 in 11 innings in the quarterfinals on May 11, topping third-seeded Robbinsville 5-4 in the semis on May 14, and then defeating top-seeded Lawrence 10-2 in the final last Thursday, exploding for eight runs in the seventh to break open a 2-2 contest. The MCT title was especially meaningful for the Raiders as this was the final county tournament with the event being just a Colonial Valley Conference competition in the future with no non-CVC prep schools allowed to compete.

In the Prep A tourney, the top-seeded Raiders cruised early on, topping fourth-seeded Blair 15-3 last Wednesday in the opener of the double-elimination competition and then defeating third-seeded Peddie 13-0 in the winner’s bracket two days later. On Saturday, the Raiders pulled out one last dramatic win in its postseason run, edging second-seeded Lawrenceville 8-7 in the final round as they held off the Big Red, who scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning. The win gave Hun a final record of 20-5.

Balewitz provided one of the highlights of the championship march, blasting a two-run walk-off homer in the win over Robbinsville in the MCT semis.

“That was probably the best moment of my baseball career,” said Balewitz, who is headed to Stevens Institute of Technology where he will be playing for its Division III baseball program. “It was just set up picture-perfect. We had people on base. Once I hit it, I knew it was going. It was just whether it was going to stay fair or not. It was amazing.”

In the county final, the Raiders produced an amazing rally as they scored eight runs in the top of the seventh to defeat Lawrence.

“They had a really good kid on the mound (Deacon Moore), he held us to a 2-all game,” said Balewitz. “Then they took him out and that is when the offense exploded.”

Catching fire down the stretch, Balewitz helped spark the Hun offense.

“I feel like a lot of things are starting to click, you have bunch of guys around you who are supporting you too,” said Balewitz, who ended the spring batting .317 with two homers and 13 RBIs. “Everyone is always wanting extra swings — it is a lot of reps.”

Stepping in at catcher after starter Deacon Bowne was hampered with an arm injury, Balewitz also excelled in the field.

“It is great, I get to catch a lot of great arms,” added Balewitz. “It is very exciting.”

Achieving the triple crown of titles was a great way for Balewitz and his fellow seniors to end their Hun careers.

“No one in program history has ever done it — we have people to do it,” said Balewitz. “We have a bunch of seniors who aren’t going to be here next year, so that is a great memory to leave with.”

Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto will leave the spring with some very good memories of the final week of the campaign.

“It has been awesome; I think the team had a very, very distinct goal in mind before the season started which was to win all three titles which we have never done before,” said Monfiletto. “We are hoping to get that done. Even after the county championship last night, they knew that they were going to have to bounce back today. Some of the talk that was going around was, ‘Let’s celebrate this for two hours, because we are not finished. We are moving on to the next one.’”

The squad’s pitching depth played a key role in finishing the job.

“The three guys that have been getting the most innings for us Lucas [Henderson], Charlie [Batista], and Sam [Wright] were ineligible to pitch in the county tournament,” said Monfiletto. “We had Ryan Greenstein who came out like a man possessed against Notre Dame. Asher DeLue came from the start against Seton Hall Prep where he looked excellent and then he continued that against Notre Dame. He didn’t give up a run. Then we had a freshman, Yanni Moraitis, come in to throw the last inning against Notre Dame. On Tuesday against Robbinsville, it was sort of like a bullpen game which we have never really done before. Aidan Heaphy threw three innings and kept it to one run. Gabe Jacknow came in and had three great innings. Things got a little hairy there in the fifth or sixth. We gave up the lead and but we were never out of the fight.”

The Raiders showed that fight as they overcame a powerhouse Lawrence squad in the MCT final before a throng at the Trenton Thunder Ballpark.

“The atmosphere was amazing, there is no way you can simulate that,” said Monfiletto. “It is never easy under the lights, and we haven’t played in front of a crowd like that all season. We had done it the past two years which was a great experience to have. One of the things I told them before the game was like all season long we have proven to be resilient to stay in games. We have proven to always be in games no matter what. I told them that no matter what happens today, you are prepared for it because you have experienced it. I could not have written it any better. It was awesome with the people that stepped up.”

Monfiletto credited Balewitz with stepping up in a big way down the stretch.

“He has been incredible; not only has he been hitting the crap out of the ball, he has been phenomenal behind the plate,” said Monfiletto of Balewitz. “He has been doing great. One of the things that we wanted to work on with him was just picking up the tempo and having the pitchers work fast. He has been amazing. He is keeping everything in front of him, he threw a guy out last night in a huge spot and he has been swinging it.”

The Raiders came out swinging in the win over Peddie on Friday, jumping out to a 7-0 lead after two innings.

“Our infield and outfield was crisp,” said Monfiletto. “That was a good start, making that that was the case. The swings in the cage looked great.”

Post-grad star and Quinnipiac commit Sam Wright gave Hun a crisp pitching effort against Peddie, yielding just one hit in five innings with nine strikeouts and no walks.

“When you see that in the first inning, you settle in and you think this is going to be a good day,” said Monfiletto. “This was the sharpest he has looked all year.”

Looking ahead to the final round, Monfiletto was excited about the prospect of Hun closing the deal and earning its title triple.

“This would be the coolest thing that we have ever experienced,” said Monfiletto, who got a superb all-around performance from Charlie Batista in the win over Lawrenceville as he hit a homer, had three RBIs, and pitched six strong innings.

While the Raiders showed depth and grit in its hectic final week, Monfiletto pointed to team chemistry as a key factor in their success.

“One of the cooler things that we have witnessed over the past week was that the guys that weren’t able to play in the county tournament were going crazy all three games in support of each other,” said Monfiletto. “When people see that selflessness and everybody pulling for each other and if you have talent, you will be tough to beat.”

Balewitz, for his part, believed that selfless approach made the difference for Hun.

“The one thing is that we are just a family,” said Balewitz. “We have all been together for a while, and we all have each other’s back. We have a great coaching staff too.”