Hamilton, Hun to meet in title game
The Mercer County Tournament will have a new baseball champion crowned Thursday night at Trenton Thunder Ballpark after fourthseeded Hamilton West rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday to upset top-seeded defending champ Notre Dame, 5-4.
The Irish had won the county title back in 2019, the last time the MCT was played before the coronavirus pandemic took over our lives.
Now the 41st annual Mercer County Baseball Tournament will be decided between the 15-6 Hornets and the second-seeded Hun School (19-2 heading into its game versus the Pingry School in the Prep A Tournament yesterday) at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Thunder’s stadium along the Trenton waterfront.
Parking and ballpark entrance are free. Fans who are unable to attend can also watch the game videostreamed live at wbcbsports.com or on WBCB Sports’ Facebook Page.
Hamilton West will be appearing in its ninth county final, but looking to win its first crown since taking backto-back trophies in 1982 & 1983 when Steve White (the man who keeps Bob DeMeo Field in Veterans Park looking so good) became the tournament’s first two-time Most Valuable Player. That’s 39 years of waiting.
“Nobody thought we were going to win (Tuesday), and we got it done,” Hornets fifth-year head coach Mike Moceri said. “Nobody is going to think we’ll be able to win Thursday. We’ve got to find a way to get it done.”
Hamilton was last in the MCT Final in 2014, falling, 8-5, to West Windsor-Plainsboro South.
WW-P South’s Pirates were hoping to make another championship game trip this season, but fell, 6-2, to Hun in Tuesday’s semifinals at DeMeo Field.
The Raiders have been waiting even longer than the Hornets, not only to be in a county final, but to
win one.
Hun has never won the MCT, neither under current six-year head coach Tom Monfiletto, nor under legendary head coach Bill McQuade before him. McQuade’s team made it to its only other MCT Final in 1994, but lost to Steinert, 8-3, with their twotime MVP Ryan Pandolfini. That was 28 years ago, just to get this far.
The Raiders have been waiting to win the trophy for 43 years (the tournament began in 1980). COVID-19 wiped out the tournament the last two springs.
“It’s huge what this tournament means to our whole program,” said Hun senior Carson Applegate, one of five Raiders headed to Division 1 programs. “We’re a small school, so we’re glad to be in the driver’s seat to make history happen.”
These two proud baseball clubs are also relatively new to each other. They have not met this season and actually have not squared off since 2011 when Hun defeated Hamilton West., 6-3, in a regular-season game.