Carey earns signature victory

In the wake of losing the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year as well as the county’s top pitcher to graduation, Carey baseball coach Doug Robins said his club’s chief challenge this spring has been "trying to find out who we are.”

It’s a safe bet after last week’s series finale against the Seahawks, top-tier Nassau Conference A3 foe Manhasset, to its chagrin, has formed its own clear ideas as to Carey’s team identity.

Powered by senior Jake Berenger’s 3-for-3 day at the plate and fellow All-Leaguer Matteo Tufano's combined shutout bid with reliever Jacob Daddino, Carey (3-4 overall, 2-3 A3) snapped a four-game skid to stun the second-place Indians 17-0 on April 13 in a five-inning mercy-rule victory. The Seahawks’ single-game tally is the highest this season by any team in A3, and ranks second this spring in Nassau Class A.

“For a while we’ve been trying to do too much, still figuring out who our leaders are,” said Robins, whose club last season boasted slugger Tegan Graham and fellow All-County honoree Ryan Degnan, a Nassau-leading seven-win righthander. "In the last game [against Manhasset] the guys focused, played as a team, and started hitting the ball where it's pitched, instead of trying to get two hits on one swing."

Tufano, Carey’s No. 3 starter for a second straight season after joining its staff as a sophomore, leads the Seahawks in hits and ranks second on the club batting .435. Sophomore infielder Nicholas Medoro leads Carey batting .533 in his first season on varsity, while fellow phenom Jayden Gigante – an All-Conference freshman outfielder who’s drawn Division 1 interest, Robins said – continues his precocious ascent, helping Carey win its opener 6-1 at Bethpage going three-for-four with two RBIs.

“We gave Nicky a shot this offseason and he swung the bat well, so now he’s our guy; we find places to put him so he stays in the lineup,” Robins said of the sometime designated hitter. “Jayden’ll be a five-year starter,” Robins continued. “He’s very demanding on himself and he’s patient at the plate, which makes him a good leadoff hitter for us.”

Seahawks senior Jake Perlowitz (.300 avg.) – whose four home runs last year led Conference A2 – is on pace to eclipse his career mark with a team-best three blasts less than halfway through the season. “Jake’s got a lot of power for a kid his size,” Robins said of the five-foot-nine, 150-pound infielder/reliever. “He’s at his best when he’s hitting to all fields.”

Carey’s offense has seen a restorative boost with the arrival of right fielder Luke Hartz (.385 avg.), who stepped away from baseball as a junior due to a knee injury.

“These first couple weeks we’ve been looking to see who’s going to replace our guys from last year,” said Robins, whose team this week takes on unbeaten A3 leader Division (9-0). “The kids put a lot of pressure on themselves to come out hot, and we ended up having a slow start.”

Robins added: “But this team never quits. We’ve got very tough games coming up. Hopefully, this last win will help us turn the corner.”