After a heartbreaking defeat in last year’s playoffs, the Carey baseball team appears to be even more determined to make another championship run this spring.
Last June, the Seahawks were a strike away from eliminating eventual county champion South Side before allowing a three-run homer in the top of the seventh for a crushing 8-7 defeat. But backed by a stacked lineup and a reliable pitching staff, the Seahawks are off to a 7-0-1 start this season and sit just one-half game behind undefeated Calhoun (8-0) in the Conference A2 standings at press time.
“We graduated a few really good players, and we had a few players returning and we’ve had a lot of young kids really step into their own and do a great job,” Carey coach Doug Robins said.
The seven wins are just three less than its entire 2021 total and the latest one on April 12 didn’t come easy. Carey took a 7-0 lead over Roslyn, only to have the Bulldogs rally to tie it. Junior reliever Jake Perlowitz stopped the bleeding with 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and the Seahawks offense took over again and scored the final 10 runs to win by a football-esque score of 17-7.
There is hardly a breather in the Carey lineup as eight Seahawks who have appeared in at least six games are batting at least .300. Senior outfielder Teagan Graham, who earned All-Conference honors last season, is batting .500 (14-for-28) with a home run and a team-leading 14 RBI to go with 10 stolen bases.