By Justin Feil, Packet Media Group
Gavin Stupienski knew he was going to miss a lot of the Hun School baseball season after dislocating his shoulder on a freak play, but he didn’t want to miss it all.
The senior catcher from Columbus returned in time for the tournament portion, and he delivered a bases-loaded double in the sixth inning to help 10th-seeded Hun pull away from seventh-seeded West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 10-2, in the first round of the Mercer County Tournament on May 7.
”This is what I shot for,” Stupienski said. “I went to rehab the last couple weeks, and I made the doctor’s appointment for before when the playoffs start. I didn’t want to miss out. I knew I could help the team.”
With their full complement of players, Hun is back on track following an unexpected start. Stupienski was lost in the second game of the season when his shoulder dislocated in a collision with a teammate while chasing a foul pop fly. Top hurler Austin Goeke was out early as well with tendinitis in his throwing arm.
Things snowballed into a 1-7 start, including a first for longtime head coach Bill McQuade the Raiders lost three straight games by the 10-run rule in the losing stretch.
”I think, initially, it was a shock,” McQuade said. “A lot of the kids on the team, we’ve been going along good for a couple years so they’re used to that. We were so lucky to have young assistant coaches Tommy Monfiletto, Scott Sanders and Pat Jones; that’s what kept it going. They gave them that constant challenge. They just kept throwing batting practice. They showed, even though we’re missing a couple pieces, it doesn’t mean that we can’t do the job.
”They didn’t quit,” he added. “They listened to that message. We went inside and had one of our best practices in the gym. Right now, I’m happy. You keep your fingers crossed that you can keep this momentum going for two weeks, and that’s when the season ends.”
Hun followed up its win over WW-P South with a 12-0 defeat of Germantown Friends on May 8 for its sixth win in its last eight games. The Raiders took that momentum into the scheduled MCT quarterfinal game against Notre Dame on May 10, a team they lost to, 4-1, two weeks ago. Notre Dame and Steinert are the lone teams to defeat the Raiders since Apr. 21.
”It’s back to the expectations we had at the beginning of the year,” Stupienski said. “We had high hopes of being the best Hun team that’s ever come through there. Our confidence is high. Even against Steinert and Notre Dame, we played some of our best baseball of the season.”
WW-P South found that out the hard way. The Pirates sent top pitcher Paul Balestrieri against Hun, and the Raiders jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning capped by a two-run home run by Stevie Wells. WW-P South came back within 3-2 against Goeke, but the junior pitcher was unhittable the rest of the way. He held WW-P South hitless over the final 6Ð innings.
”Maybe his velocity isn’t always where he wants it, but his offspeed is right there,” Stupienski said. “His changeup and curveball are on point. He’s got great location too. He still gets hitters out easily.”
The Hun offense stretched its lead to give Goeke some breathing room. The team added a run in the second inning, three in the fourth, two in the sixth on Stupienski’s double and one in the seventh inning. David Dudeck was 3-for-4, and Devan Birch knocked in three runs as the Raiders improved to 7-10.
”It was almost by far the best game we’ve played,” Stupienski said. “Everybody on our team was roping the ball. We had a couple good practices the last couple days leading up to it.”
The Raiders are right where they want to be in the final month of the season. They have momentum and confidence back as they face the Mercer County, Mid-Atlantic Prep League and Prep A state tournaments. The Raiders never lost sight of those goals though their slow start did give them cause for concern.
”We had higher hopes,” Stupienski said. “We knew all the talent we had and, coming back from last year, the state championship win. Our top pitcher got hurt, and I got hurt. Once we got us back, it was a boost. The guys around us could see us playing again, and it helped.”
Not being able to help the Raiders in the first month of the season bothered Stupienski. He was diligent in his rehabilitation of the nonthrowing shoulder that initially had been hurt as a junior playing football, but the days went by slowly as the losses mounted.
”That was the hardest part about it,” Stupienski said. “I couldn’t do anything about it. I was just sitting there.”
Now he’s making up for lost time.
”Everything is good,” Stupienski said. “I wear this brace now. I haven’t had any mishaps or anything. It’s strong, and I can pretty much do anything.”
Stupienski, who transferred to Hun from Northern Burlington after his sophomore year, is looking for a big finish to his high school career before he heads to North Carolina Wilmington next year. UNC Wilmington is bringing him in as a catcher, a position he only took up full time a year ago, but one he seemed destined for all along. His father caught at Rutgers and his brother, Russell, catches at St. Peter’s.
”I played every position growing up,” Stupienski said. “I pitched; played all the infield positions. I was always a catcher. I could always do it.”
Without Goeke and Stupienski early on, other Raiders had to step up. They found new contributors that in the long run have helped to strengthen the team.
McQuade explained, “Alex Fabian volunteered to be a catcher for us. It put him in the batting order as well. He hadn’t done a lot of batting for us, but he came up with some big hits. Then, with Stupienski coming back, we picked up two more solid hitters, and that lengthened our lineup.
”It’s like a couple years ago when Mike Ford was out, and when he came back, we won the state. I don’t know if we’ll win the state, but we’re playing better. We’re scoring a little better, we’re catching the ball better, and our pitchers are throwing strikes.”
The pitching staff has a balance of experience and talent in the foursome of Goeke, Mike Manfredi, Fabian and Jason Applegate.
”We’ll definitely need all the arms we’ve got for the last couple of weeks,” Stupienski said. “I’ll be pitching some in the last couple games.”
One of Stupienski’s first games back was in a relief appearance where he struck out six over the final three innings of a 6-5 extra-innings win over Blair, part of a four-game winning streak in which the Raiders started to turn things around.
McQuade traces the transformation back to the second game of a doubleheader against Mercersburg.
”They jumped out 6-0, and John Campbell came in for us, and then Tom Brown came in and closed it out,” McQuade said of the 11-8 comeback win. “That helps when you beat a quality team like that. When Brown got on the mound, he did the job. Tom Brown is a senior. He came up through the program. He’s a strike-throwing machine. He can change speeds a little. He’s always enjoying himself. He always has this grin on his face. He’s not going to overpower anyone, but no one has hit him hard yet.”
He added, “At some point, somebody has to step up and do the job they weren’t expected to. Everyone has to contribute at some time.”
The Raiders have gotten strong contributions up and down their now formidable lineup.
”We moved Devan Birch to shortstop and Eddie Paparella to third base,” McQuade said. “Eddie Paparella been a force all year. Davey Dudeck has given us power all year and had a great year. We had some pieces come back. We’re back where we thought we could be at the beginning of the season.”
Stupienski is thrilled he’s back for the most important part of the season. He’s picked up right where he left off, and that’s given Hun confidence it can reach its goals.
”We’re actually setting the bar higher this year,” he said. “We want to win the Mercer County Tournament. That’s our goal. We want to be state champs again.”

