Carey advances to semifinals

Posted

When the 2017 softball season began, Carey head coach Anthony Turco was confident that his patience would be rewarded. The team had plenty of talent, and it was coming off three consecutive trips to the Nassau County Class A championship round, but it had lost a slew of key performers to graduation and would take some time to hit its stride.

The long-time coach was spot on. After last Friday’s 16-2 rout of visiting Bethpage in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, the Lady Seahawks are again one of the four teams left standing. Carey put up 13 runs in the opening inning and never looked back. Pitcher Dana Romano went the distance in a game that was shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule.

With the win, the No. 3 Lady Seahawks (13-4) advanced to the best-of-three semifinal series where they will take on No. 2 Island Trees (15-5). Island Trees advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 victory over Bellmore JFK. 

“It took a little time to find our identity,” Turco said. “If you’re going to get hot, this is a great time to do it. Our team has improved dramatically from the beginning up to now. I always tell the girls that there are three seasons; preseason, regular season, and playoffs. You want to be playing your best ball when the playoffs come around. For some of the girls, it’s four consecutive years reaching the semifinals. They understand what it takes to be successful at this time of the year.”

In past years, Carey has relied on dominant pitching and timely hitting, but times have changed. The Lady Seahawks are still more than capable in the pitching circle, but their prowess in the batter’s box has been off the charts. Carey, which put up nine runs or better in nine of its 17 games, are solid throughout the lineup.

“We’re hitting the ball with authority up and down the order,” Turco said. “The great thing is that it’s not just one or two players. In that 13-run inning, we hammered the ball. I can’t point to one player who carried us that inning. Everyone hit the ball well.”

The Seahawks lineup added a dimension when senior Emily Agate returned from an injury with just three games remaining in the season. Agate bats in the seventh spot in the order, but Turco believes she’d be a three-hitter for many teams in the county. Brianna Pinto, Jaclyn Rodriguez, Megan McCormack, and Frankie Cirone have all been tough outs. 

Turco feels good as his team enters the semifinals. “Island Trees is very quick at the top and has legitimate hitters in the middle of the order,” Turco said. “They’re going to get their hits. We’re very confident in our ability right now. We need to make the simple plays and do all the little things that it takes to win in the playoffs.” 

Results of the semifinal series were unavailable at press time.