TURNING THE CORNER: Hun School baseball player T.J. Francis races home in a game last spring. Last Sunday, junior outfielder Francis went 2 for 4 with one run, one RBI, and two triples as top-seeded Hun fell 7-4 to fourth-seeded Peddie in the Prep A state semifinals. The Raiders finished the spring with a 15-7 record. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)

By Bill Alden

With the Hun School baseball team trailing Peddie 7-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning in the Prep A state semifinals last Sunday afternoon, T.J. Francis wasn’t about to give up.

Junior outfielder Francis ripped a triple to left center field to drive in T.J. Tift.

“It was just take a pitch the other way, let it get deep, find a gap and I did just that,” said Hun junior outfielder Francis, reflecting on his hitting approach.

Francis was hoping his triple would spark a dramatic comeback but he ended up getting stranded at third as Peddie pitcher Brody Buchner fanned the next three batters to shut the door on Hun.

“I thought it would spark us,” said Francis, who went 2 for 4 with one run, one RBI, and two triples in the defeat. “In the end we played our tails off.”

While the 7-4 loss stung, Francis is proud of what the Raiders accomplished this spring as it went 15-7 and tied the Hill School (Pa.) for the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) title.

“We really came together,” said Francis. “To have a big loss to Gloucester Catholic in the first week, we pivoted from that and played our best the rest of the season. I think we all hung out a lot during the year and that helped our bonds get stronger. Towards the season we knew we could count on each other.”

Francis emerged as a strong performer for the Raiders this spring, hitting .413 with 23 runs and 19 RBIs after batting .111 with one hit in 2024.

“I started to try to take the ball the other way,” said Francis. “Last year, I was mainly pulling baseball which is why I didn’t really get much time.”

As Francis caught fire this spring, he was moved into the leadoff spot in the Hun batting order.

“It was definitely a change of pace for me,” said Francis. “I was batting fourth in the beginning. I started to get more comfortable.”

Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto sensed that the seventh inning triple by Francis could turn the tide for the Raiders.

“I did, especially with the guys that we had coming up,” said Monfiletto. “He (Buchner) upped his game and made some really, really good pitches. I wasn’t too upset with those at-bats.”

Hun had struggled against Peddie ace Buchner in two regular season meetings, falling 5-3 to the Falcons on May 1 and edging them 2-1 on April 4.

“We watched a lot of video of it and I thought our approach was much better today than it was in the first two starts,” said Monfiletto. “He is outstanding. He is an elite pitcher with elite stuff. He threw like it today. I have to give him a ton of credit. I would also like to give Peddie a ton of credit because I feel like they played a really, really good game.”

Monfiletto credited Francis with having a really good season for the Raiders.

“He has been unbelievable,” said Monfiletto. “We are so lucky to have him and whatever college scoops him up is going to be incredibly lucky to have him. He was such a bright spot for us all year long.”

In the loss to Peddie last Sunday, Hun’s pitchers found themselves in some tough spots.

“We weren’t as consistent as we wanted to be, we didn’t help ourselves out too much,” said Monfiletto, who got four innings from starter Kerrick Shannon with Aidan Heaphy, Sam Amodio, and Ben Herriott coming on in relief. “However with the year that Kerrick had and the year that our staff had I am not going to think about it today. I am going to think about the bright spots that we had this year.”

As Hun won its sixth straight MAPL title, there were plenty of highlights this year.

“Some guys stepped up in major ways,” said Monfiletto. “I think there is a lot of room for improvement and having a lot of guys coming back is really exciting.”

The team’s senior group, which included Will Kraemer, Nico Amecangelo, Antonio Destribats, Zach Eisenberg, Aidan Barrett, and Grant Gastadello, stepped up in a number of ways.

“They were incredible, they are some of the best overall human beings that we have had here,” said Monfiletto. “They have contributed so much to the program, whether they played every day or they didn’t. They really gave absolutely everything that they had to the program and I am going to miss them a great deal. Even Nico, who wasn’t able to play this year and that was a bummer, just did whatever he possibly could to contribute.”

Monfiletto is excited about the direction of the Hun program.

“One of the themes throughout the year had been how do you respond, and we are going to continue that next year,” said Monfiletto. “Guys that are going to be playing in college are going to continue that as well. I am really excited for the guys that are going to play in college and I am really excited for the guys that we have coming back.”

In the view of Francis, the returning players will come back hungry next spring.

“Taking from this, it is going to motivate us,” said Francis. “Losses only make us stronger so next year we are going to come back even stronger.”