FINDING A WAY: Hun School third baseman Carson Wehner makes a play in recent action. Last Sunday, junior Wehner went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs to help Hun defeat Lawrenceville 16-0 in the state Prep A final. It marked the fifth straight Prep A crown for the Raiders who improved to 19-2. Hun wraps up its 2021 campaign by playing Allentown on May 26 at Moody Park and at Steinert on May 29. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Entering the final round of the state Prep A baseball tournament last Sunday needing one win to clinch the title in the double-elimination competition, the Hun School squad wasn’t about to mess around as it hosted the Lawrenceville School.
“We just wanted to take care of business and win it on our home turf,” said Hun junior third baseman Carson Wehner. “We tried to put the ball in play, do the job, and win the game.”
After scoring one run in the bottom of the first inning on a sweltering day with temperatures reaching the 90s, the Raiders erupted for seven tallies in the second. Wehner contributed a single to help spark the outburst and later slapped a two-run double down the left field line to plate the final two runs of the frame.
“At the beginning of the inning, I just wanted to get on base and move it to the next guy,” said Wehner.
“They will get me in, the whole lineup can hit. On the double, with two strikes I just had to put the ball in play. I spread my stance out, don’t stride and just do the job and I got it down the line.”
Hun never looked back, cruising to a 16-0 win in six innings, winning the program’s fifth straight Prep A crown and improving to 19-2.
Adding a finishing touch to the rout, Wehner smacked a run-scoring double in the fifth to help the Raiders score eight in that inning.
“I saw it was going over his head and I was just thankful,” said Wehner, who ended up going 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs in the victory.
Wehner and his teammates were thankful to extend Hun’s Prep A title streak.
“This is special, I think Blair had it four in a row before us,” said Wehner. “To hold it for longer is really special for us.”
With Hun having dominated foes all spring and also winning the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) regular season title along the way, the 2021 squad is clearly special.
“We just have everything we have a great pitching staff, we have great hitters, we just do it all,” added Wehner.
Working hard on his defense and batting, Wehner has emerged as a star this spring for the Raiders.
“This year I stepped up and played third, I haven’t really done that in the past much but I filled the role,” said Wehner.
“My hitting has picked up. At the beginning of the year I was struggling a little bit. I tried to make a lot of adjustments and just put the ball in play. I knew I was going to find holes.”
Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto sensed that his team was going to find some holes against Lawrenceville on Sunday.
“Their pitcher’s best pitch was his fastball, I think we were pretty geared up for it,” said Monfiletto.
“We stayed in the middle of the field. Carson Applegate hit a double to center field in the first and then a homer to centerfield.”
Monfiletto wasn’t surprised to see Wehner in the middle of the action.
“Wehner had a phenomenal day; he is someone that just works tirelessly throughout the year,” said Monfiletto.
“He has really, really improved his approach at the plate. When he is going, it is awesome to see.”
The Raiders got some awesome pitching from junior Ryan DiMaggio in the win as he hurled a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and three walks.
“Ryan was fantastic today,” said Monfiletto. “Carson [Applegate] was amazing yesterday to get us here to this point.”
Getting the fifth Prep A title in a row is an amazing feat for the Hun program.
“It is a goal that we have every single year and it is what we work for in the offseason,” said Monfiletto.
“As the season goes on, we always want to prove that we are at the top of our peers in the preps. It means a lot. Coach Jim Stone, who was at Blair and had won it four years in a row from ’12, ’13, ’14 and ’15, handed me the trophy in 2016 and said take care of this, it has been here a while.”
Monfiletto has been impressed by how his players have taken care of business this season.
“This is probably the most confident team that I have coached,” said Monfiletto.
“They truly believe in themselves and their own ability but they also believe in each other. If somebody has an off day, somebody else picked them up and they know it. There were a lot of times this year where I might have been a little frantic before a game and they calmed me down. That part is amazing, I really learned a lot from them.”
With Hun wrapping up its season by playing Allentown on May 26 at Moody Park and at Steinert on May 29, Monfiletto is confident that his squad will keep rolling.
“Those are two huge games,” said Monfiletto, noting that his team has already faced such tough foes this spring as Pope John XXIII, Seton Hall Prep, St. Augustine, and St. Joe’s Metuchen.
“That will be fun. Steinert is a team that we want to beat every single year. It is a team that had our number for a really long time. We hope to be able to compete really well against them.”
Wehner and his teammates are determined to keep competing hard to cap a brilliant 2021 campaign.
“We have got to finish the job, win these next two and then move to next year,” said Wehner.
“We are going to be really strong next year, but I don’t know if we will be better than this.”