Seaford continues perfect start

The Seaford baseball team has made the playoffs in each of the last 19 seasons. It appears well on the way to making it 20.

The senior-laden Vikings are off to a torrid 6-0 start, during which they have outscored their opponents 67-12, including a 14-3 drubbing of Carle Place on April 12 that began a two-game series. It marked the fourth time the offense scored in double digits.

Seaford is in Conference B1 this season after spending all of coach Mike Milano’s 19-year tenure in A, but Milano is indifferent to the switch as long as the wins keep piling up.

“With a roster of only 14, to have 10 seniors on the team that have been playing together for such a long time, that experience is invaluable,” he said. “It’s a wonderful advantage to have.”

The biggest win of the six was a 7-2 victory at Garden City on April 8, which remains the Trojans’ only loss of the season at press time. Catcher Stephen Ierides homered and doubled and drove in two runs and fellow senior Justin Jaskolski added two doubles and four RBIs.

“We just went in there and we hit the ball pretty well,” Milano said. “We made some plays and we were happy with the performance.”

Ierides has been arguably the team’s hottest hitter thus far. He hit a grand slam in the season opener at East Rockaway and had two hits the next day against the Rocks before collecting three more hits versus Carle Place.

“He is as professional a hitter as you can ask for as a high school coach,” Milano said. “He understands pitching [and] he understands counts. His swing is a repetitive motion. He gives you what you give him. If a pitcher’s going to pitch him away, he hits away. If a pitcher’s going to pitch him in, he drives the ball to the left side.”

Jaskolski has two four-RBI games this spring and has also produced on the mound, yielding just one hit over four shutout innings to earn the win against Carle Place. 

Billy Kind, who dominated Oyster Bay April 11, and Nick Apollo lead the staff with two wins apiece, while Sean Costello set the tone with a two-hit shutout in the opener. Costello helped himself that day by going 3-for-4 with two triples and two RBIs.

“Costello’s like a Swiss Army knife,” Milano said. “He plays infield, he plays outfield, he pitches on Mondays. He just gives us everything.”

T.J. Harrington also homered in the opener and has played “high-level” defense in his varsity debut at shortstop, according to Milano. Junior second baseman A.J. Cantore has been a steady presence at the bottom of the order and sophomore third baseman Jason Berthel is one of the team’s top baserunners.

Jaskolski is the center fielder when he’s not pitching and flanked by hard-working seniors Kevin Knox (left) and Chris Viggiano (right.) 

The Vikings and division-foe Wheatley (7-0) are both undefeated at press time and the schools begin May with a three-game series.