BLASTING OFF: Hun School baseball player Jacob Lilienthal follows through on a swing in recent action. Last Saturday, junior catcher Lilienthal went 2 for 3 with a homer, two runs, and four RBIs to help top-seeded Hun defeat second-seeded Peddie School 13-3 in the final round of the Prep A state tournament. The Raiders, who went 3-0 in the double-elimination competition, ended the spring with a 20-4 record. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
It was a matchup that Jacob Lilienthal and his teammates on the Hun School baseball team have been looking forward to since last May.
After getting knocked out of the Prep A state tournament by rival Peddie last season, top-seeded Hun was seeking redemption against the second-seeded Falcons last week as the foes faced each other in the tourney.
“One hundred percent, we wanted to get some revenge,” said junior star catcher Lilienthal.
The Raiders started that revenge tour as they faced Peddie on Friday in the semifinal round of the double-elimination tourney and cruised to a 14-4 win, knocking our Falcon mound ace Brody Buchner as they torched him for 12 runs in five innings.
“I think that was our seventh time facing him,” said Lilienthal of Buchner. “I think last year I was an 0-fer with double-digit bats against him. Earlier this season, I felt like we all made adjustments. We crushed him yesterday.”
Peddie topped Blair 10-1 on Saturday morning to set up a final showdown against host Hun in the afternoon. The rivals were locked in a 1-1 tie heading into the bottom of the fourth inning when Hun scored four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Lilienthal hit a run-scoring single to help spark the Raider rally.
“There was a lefty on the mound, he wasn’t throwing super hard,” said Lilienthal. “Earlier in the game, he threw me a bunch of curve balls. In that at-bat it was 3-0 pretty early and got the take sign. It got to 3-1 and he threw a strike. He didn’t throw hard enough for me to get blown by his fastball and I was able to bloop it out to right.”
After Peddie scored two runs in the top of the fifth to make it a 5-3 game, Lilienthal struck again in the bottom of frame as he lofted a three-run homer over the right field fence.
“I didn’t think it was out off the bat,” said Lilienthal.“I have never thought I could get the ball out to right, it is so far here. I knew it was going to be close when I saw the outfielder ranging back a little. It was probably two feet over.”
Hun ended up with four runs in the fifth as Zain Majeed followed Lilienthal’s blast with a homer of his own and then added four more in the sixth to go up 13-3 as the game ended on the 10-run rule. In so doing, Hun went 3-0 in the tourney, winning each game by 10 runs as it ended the season with a 20-4 record.
Winning the Prep A title was the culmination of a year-long quest for the Raiders.
“It means a lot, we didn’t get to win it last year,” said Lilienthal.
“So all year long, it was getting back to here and getting that revenge.”
Lilienthal produced a big year with the bat, hitting .328 with two homers and 19 RBIs this spring, making a big jump from his sophomore year when he hit .208 with no homers and 12 RBIs.
“I think it is getting an understanding, I used to think I had to catch a ball in one certain spot,” said Lilienthal. “Now I could get beat a little, I could catch the ball put front. If I swing level, I am still going to get barrel on the ball and get a hit out of it.”
Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto understood that it wasn’t going to be easy for his team to overcome Peddie in the Prep A tourney.
“Every game that we played against them was very special because we knew it was going to be a really big fight every time,” said Monfiletto. “They had an excellent year. We were fortunate to come out on top in these last couple of games.”
Coming out on top against Buchner in the semi on Friday gave the Raiders confidence coming into the final.
“We hit really well yesterday and we have seen him seven times in two years and he has been outstanding,” said Monfiletto. “It was really nice to string together a couple of hits in big spots and extend the lead and break it open yesterday.”
On Saturday, Monfiletto knew that going up 5-3 didn’t give his team enough of a cushion against the feisty Falcons.
“We knew that we needed to extend the lead because it wasn’t going to be comfortable,” said Monfiletto. “It was great to do that. That was the thing we had been pushing all year is no matter what happens in a game, we are always in it offensively with what our bats can do. It was nice to see that the past couple days.”
Monfiletto has enjoyed seeing Lilienthal’s progress with the bat.
“Jacob had a big single and obviously the big home run, that was great,” said Monfiletto. “He added some power numbers, he has hit the ball to all fields. He had an excellent year, he is likely going to be first-team All-League. The growth that he has shown in his career has been amazing.”
Junior first baseman Majeed produced an amazing week as he was chosen as the Most Outstanding Player of the tourney.
“Zain has been in an absolute groove for these past couple of weeks,” said Monfiletto of Majeed, who went 5 of 11 with two homers, three runs, and six RBIs in the tournament. “We had BP on Thursday before our game on Friday and he put five balls out. He made a joke, saying sorry it took me so long to find it. It was great to see him blossom at the end of the year.”
On the mound, post-graduate Blake Echternacht produced a gutsy effort in the final, striking out seven and giving up three runs and three hits in five innings.
“We knew that Blake was going to give us a long outing because that is just what he does,” said Monfiletto. “He is really tough, he just executes really, really well. We were really happy with what he gave us on the mound. He got himself into jams and got himself out of them. The strikeout against Evan Treese was an unbelievable pitch and that was a huge spot. That was when it was still 5-3 so it was great to get out of that.”
Topping Peddie to win the Prep A crown was a great ending to the spring for the Raiders.
“It means everything, that is what we were going for,” said Monfiletto. “We talked about it all year. We talked about it last May. It was what drove us the entire year. This tournament is four teams but it is hard to win. The double elimination format and the shrunken schedule makes it tricky. That is the whole point of it. Our goal was the win a Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) title and a Prep A championship. We got the MAPL and we got the Prep A championship.”
In reflecting on the qualities that made the 2026 group special, Monfiletto pointed to the players’ daily dedication to their craft.
“I think their commitment to everything is truly it,” said Monfiletto. “It was their commitment to preparation in the offseason and their commitment to practicing well. This team practiced really well throughout the year. There was a really high standard that started with our upperclassman and permeated through the program. It helps to have talent too and we have some talent.”
In Monfiletto’s view, the team’s seniors set the tone. “I think they have left a legacy and some really big shoes to fill,” said Monfiletto. “They have continued the groundwork of hard work and high standards and competitiveness that will continue to be a part of our program.”
Lilienthal, for his part, has drawn a lot of inspiration from the team’s Class of 2026.
“We are super close with each other,” said Lilienthal. “Half of our team was seniors, I look up to those guys 100 percent. I feel like those are my older brothers.”