Hun’s Applegate shines on mound, at plate

PRINCETON >> The pitching matchups proved to be much better than the final score.

With the Lawrenceville School’s hard-throwing, sophomore right-handed pitcher Shaun McMillan going up against Hun’s harder-throwing, junior righty Carson Applegate, hits figured to be difficult to come by.

Problem was Applegate is also the Raiders’ leadoff hitter, and once he got going at the plate as well as on the hill, it sparked the home team to a six-inning, 10-0 victory over the Big Red at Wilf Family Field.

After striking out the side in the top of the first around a Hawkins Sutter double, Applegate led off against McMillan with an infield hit that he turned into Hun’s first run with the help of a wild pitch, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly by Ricky Erbeck.

Applegate struck out two more in the top of the second, then got back to work at the plate in the bottom of the frame, ripping a ball off the center field fence 390 feet away for an RBI triple.

“When I’m on the mound, I like focusing more on my pitching,” said Applegate, who is a University of Kentucky early commit. “To say I was excited today is really an understatement. This was our first home game in two years, and I got the start. I’ve been thinking about it for I don’t know how long.”

Applegate, whose fastest pitches have been clocked in the low 90s, showed his allaround delight by pitching five scoreless innings of two-hit ball, while striking out 12 (for a second straight start) and walking just one. At the plate, he went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and the RBI.

“It was impressive what he was doing on the mound and at the plate,” said McMillan, who struck out five in three innings of work with a fastball that has been clocked in the mid-80s. “I tried to go at them as I would anyone else. It’s still early in the season. We’ve improved, but we need to get more solid all around.”

McMillan, who bats cleanup, got Lawrenceville’s only other hit with a single in the fourth inning.

His team had another surprise for the Raiders when senior Lucas Simms took over on the mound in the bottom of the fourth and also threw gas. The senior righty struck out three more before Jackson Kraemer ended the game by the 10-run rule with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

Hun (4-1) also displayed one more gem before the game ended as Siena-bound postgraduate right-hander Trevor Kobryn, another hard thrower, replaced Applegate on the hill for the top of the sixth and struck out two of his own. Lawrenceville(2-3) 000 000 — 0 2 2

Hun (4-1) 124 012 — 10 10 0

2B: Sutter (L); 3B: Applegate, DiMaggio (H); HR: Kraemer (H); RBIs: Applegate, Kraemer 2, Erbeck, DiMaggio, Romano, Chiaravallo 2 (H). WP — Applegate (2-0); LP — McMillan (0-2).

PEDDIE 7, BLAIR 0 BLAIRSTOWN >>

Luke Treese tossed a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and one walk to help the Falcons grab their first victory.

Zach Naddelman went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored, while Alex Stillwell and Matt Schwartz added two hits apiece.

Peddie (1-4) 200 011 3 — 7 10 2 BlairAcad(0-3) 000 000 0 — 0 3 4

2B: Famularo, Naddelman (P); RBIs: Famularo, Naddelman 2, Schwartz (P).

WP — Treese (1-0); LP — n/a.