Jets soaring at right time

Every high school baseball program in the Northeast dealt with the seemingly never-ending nasty weather for nearly all of the month of April. Some teams struggled mightily to get things going, some thrived from day one, while others, like East Meadow, dug deep and found ways to persevere.

After withstanding a four-game losing streak early on in the season, the Jets have been simmering of late, winning six of their last eight contests including a three-game sweep of Valley Stream Central that saw them outscore the Eagles 33-2. Senior Billy McQuillan went the distance on the mound, and Pat Hoffman was 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Jets to an 8-1 victory in the series finale.

Head coach John Marciante appreciates his team’s tenacity. “With all of the postponements early on, it was really tough to get into any kind of consistent routine,” Marciante said. “I’m proud of the way the guys have pulled through. We’ve put ourselves in a good position to make a nice run. The pitchers are stretched out now, and the bats are rolling.” 

East Meadow (8-6 overall, 8-5 in Nassau Conference AA-II) hopes to finish strong as it prepares for the postseason. It will play two more games against Long Beach and finish the regular season with a three-game set with Plainview JFK.

Strong starting pitching has kept the Jets in every game. Charlie Cucchiara has seen his success as a sophomore carry over to his junior year. Cucchiara is 4-1 with a 1.49 earned run average and an extraordinary strikeout-to-walk ratio of 17.33 to 1. He has also been steady at the plate with an on base percentage of .451.

Hoffman has been tough on the hill as well. The senior southpaw eats up innings, which has been very important with the number of games the team is playing each week. McQuillan (2-2) was outstanding in his victory over Valley Stream Central, scattering just three singles while striking out five. He has also kept himself in the everyday lineup with a .360 batting average.

Senior Matthew Mackay has been terrific out of the pen, and has played a solid third base. Junior catcher Eric Bernstein, a converted infielder is doing a nice job behind the plate, and is hitting .314. Senior Mike Romeo has been a key contributor off the bench with three pinch hits in the three opportunities.

A pair of sophomores are making things happen in a big way at the top of the batting order. Center fielder Sean Kennedy is hitting .406, and Danny Molina has emerged as one of the conference’s toughest outs. Molina is hitting an even .500 and has scored 13 runs. 

Hoffman and junior Tyler Patterson have taken advantage of their RBI opportunities. Hoffman has eight doubles, three triples and 13 RBIs. Patterson leads the team with 15 RBI.

The Jets will be back in action when Plainview JFK comes to town on Monday, May 7 at 4:30 p.m.