Wild comeback victory for Carey

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Carey’s softball team has been a pleasant surprise this year in a season driven by Ohio State-esque stickers given out based on accomplishments.

The Seahawks are a squad made up of six underclassmen, six juniors, and only two seniors, but they have come to play every game in Nassau Conference 2 and pulled out an thrilling playoff victory May 18.

“One of the things that we wanted to push forward was the team concept. They all believe in each other, they all work for each other. Nobody's jealous of anybody.” coach Anthony Turco said. “They're all the nicest kids in the world. We have AP students, we’re a scholar-athlete team. It makes the job that much easier.

The Seahawks have been led by All-County honorees Caylee De Meo and Lauren Peers as well as Honorable Mention All-County Sabrina Chapman. They also have gotten valuable play from Paige Agate, Amalia Flaherty, and Madison Seidl.

“[Chapman] stood out at the plate this year. She went from batting .175 to almost .400 in a span of a year,” said Turco. “She came in the second half of the year on a tear. She hit three home runs, two of them against the conference pitcher of the year.”

Carey managed a comeback of epic proportions in a 6-5 walk-off win against Plainedge to open the Nassau Class A playoffs.

Plainedge led 5-1 in the top of the sixth inning after a three-run home run, but Carey cut the deficit with a run in the bottom half of the inning. The Seahawks held Plainedge scoreless and looked to make a comeback, but things looked bleak after their first two batters were retired. With two outs and no one on, Emily Lehane singled and the rally was on.

Freshman Devon Barley was up next and forced an error with a hard hit ball and some hustle down the line, putting Carey in a good position with the tying run at the plate. Grace Leimburger, a versatile catcher, was patient at the plate, not swinging at any bad pitches and worked a walk that loaded the bases.

DeMeo, who had been a star all year, worked the count full before knocking a base hit that drove in two runs, cutting the margin to 5-4. In the cleanup spot, Peers, the starting pitcher, hit a towering fly ball that dropped between Plainedge outfielders. After the lead runner scored to tie it, DeMeo put on the afterburners and scored all the way from first, walking the game off for Carey and advancing it to the quarterfinals.

“I've been coaching athletics at Carey for 22 years and that was probably the craziest comeback win I've ever had as a coach,” said Turco.

The Seahawks advanced to take on a tough opponent in Clarke, which won 10 games and entered the playoffs on an upswing.

“[Clarke] is well coached and they have quality players there, but we're gonna take our shot,” said Turco. “I don’t want to say we’re playing with house money, but I think our girls are believing in what they're capable of after a comeback playoff win.”