TEEING UP: Hun School baseball player TJ Francis gets ready to bat in recent action. Last Wednesday, senior outfielder Francis went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs to help Hun defeat the Hill School (Pa.) 12-4. The Raiders, who topped the Pennington School 7-3 on Monday to improve to 14-2, play at the Peddie School on April 30 and the Blair Academy on May 2 before facing Northern Highlands on May 5 at the Somerset Patriots Stadium. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Coming into this spring, TJ Francis was looking to provide more hitting punch for the Hun School baseball team.
“My role last year was more of a get-on-base type and this year, I am hitting for more power,” said Hun senior outfielder Francis. “I was told midway through winter, I should be hitting for more power so I decided to work on it. I have been lifting a lot and I have been working on my swing to be more of a power hitter this year.”
Last Wednesday, that work showed as Francis went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs to help Hun defeat the Hill School (Pa.) 12-4.
After Raiders fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning, Francis got Hun on the board in the bottom of the frame, ripping a single to drive in John Rossman.
“We just trusted in our bats and stayed up the middle of the field,” said Francis, who later scored on a wild pitch to make it a 2-2 game. “My approach was sit on it. I have been seeing slower pitching lately so it was sit on it and try to take it the other way.”
In the fourth inning, the Raiders exploded for six runs to break the game open as they went up 10-3. Francis helped spark the onslaught as he slammed a two-run single in the rally.
“I just saw a fastball, he stayed out and then he came in,” said Francis, reflecting on that at-bat. “Then on the next one I decided I would swing at that one.”
The Raiders have been getting in the swing of things as the victory over Hill was the 11th win in the last 12 games for Hun.
“It is all about pitching and our hitters are stepping up,” said Francis, a Sacred Heart University commit who has belted a team-high four homers so far this season. “When one guy doesn’t do the job, the next guy always picks him up and does it for him.”
Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto sensed that his squad would get the job done against Hill despite digging the early 2-0 hole.
“I don’t think there was any panic at all,” said Monfiletto. “We were confident in our offense.”
In the fourth inning rally, the Hun offense clicked on all cylinders.
“We put together some really good at-bats, we did a good job with two strikes,” said Monfiletto. “We started by just putting the ball in play and being able to score some runs. We were able to run the bases pretty well and steal some bases and that helped a little bit bit too. That put a little bit of pressure on them too. We wound up in big spots with runners in scoring position coming through.”
Monfiletto credited Francis with coming up big this spring. “TJ has been stinging the ball,” said Monfiletto. “He has been very consistent all year. Today was a big breakout day for him and we hope that continues.”
Senior shortstop John Rossman has also provided Hun with consistent play.
“John has been great, yesterday he had five RBIs and today he swung the bat well,” said Monfiletto of Rossman who went 2-for-4 with one RBI against Hill. “He has been staying in the middle of the field and within himself. At shortstop, he has been awesome.”
The pair of junior Blake Echternacht and senior catcher Jacob Lilienthal have been swinging the bat well.
“Blake has been really consistent this year, he has been great,” added Monfiletto. “Whether or not he gets a base hit, he just does the job. Jacob swung the bat rally yesterday and had a nice sac fly today. He has been doing excellent behind the plate, throwing runners out.”
In the win over Hill, Hun got some excellent pitching from starter Yanni Moraitis and reliever Will Sassman. Moraitis went five innings, working out of some jams, and Sassman come on to close the deal, giving up no hits in two innings of work.
“Yanni was good, he threw 10 pitches in the first inning with giving up two runs,” said Monfiletto. “He was throwing strikes and his stuff looked sharp so we were confident that he was going to be able to keep them at bay. He has been getting better every single time he takes the mound. Will has looked great in the past two outings he has thrown. We are looking forward to him getting some really good innings as the season goes on.”
Building on the win over Hill, the Raiders topped Poly Prep (N.Y.) 7-4 on Thursday and then defeated the Pennington School 7-3 on Monday to improve to 14-2. In reflecting in his squad’s surge, Monfiletto cites its combination of solid mound work and timely hitting.
“It starts with pitching, the pitching has been good,” said Monfiletto, whose team plays at Peddie on April 30 and Blair in May 2 before facing Northern Highlands on May 5 at the Somerset Patriots Stadium. “We have put together some tougher at-bats. We have been cutting down on the strikeouts. We have been doing a better job of executing in different scenarios where we need to move runners over and score runs. We still have a lot of stuff to improve on.”
Francis, for his part, is looking forward to experiencing some good stuff as he heads down the homestretch of his Hun career.
“I am just trying to make the most of it and have as much fun as I can with my boys,” said Francis. “We are coming back and we are hungry for the Prep A and the MAPL (Mid-Atlantic Prep League).”