Pitching, defense propels Carey

The old adage in baseball about pitching and defense being keys to success is ringing true on the diamond at Carey in the early part of the 2016 season. Throw in the fact that the Seahawks have been getting timely hitting and executing their small ball game and you have a team that has been tough to beat.

After a 10-0 rout of Great Neck North on April 14, the Seahawks are 6-0 in Nassau Conference A-1. Senior C.J Buchanan threw five scoreless innings to improve to 2-0, and shortstop Mike Catanese was 4-for-4 with four runs scored as Carey completed the three-game sweep. Tyler DeMeo led off the game with a home run.

The Seahawks outscored the Blazers 24-1 in the series, and have registered four shutouts over the first seven games. While stronger opponents await, the way the team has gone about its business is appealing to second-year coach Mike Farina.

“We’re playing good, fundamental baseball,” Farina said. “The pitchers are throwing strikes and pitching to contact, and we’re playing solid defense behind them. We haven’t made an error over the past four games. A few guys are off to good starts at the plate. It’s been a good combination of driving the ball, and executing things like stolen bases and bunts.”

Many teams facing Carey look to keep senior first baseman Anthony Catapano from getting into one at the plate. Hence the reason he has drawn a bunch of walks and doesn’t see a ton of fastballs.

This strategy has not been effective, as challenging Catanese and senior cleanup hitter Joe Filardo has proven to be the wrong approach. Filardo has had a slew of multiple hit games, including a 3-for-3, three-RBI effort in an 11-0 road win over Sewanhaka. Tim Cassese struck out five and allowed just two hits over five scoreless innings to pick up the win.

Dan Conte is off to a strong start on the mound. The junior righthander, who is 2-0, struck out nine batters and surrendered three hits over six innings in a 3-0 win over Great Neck North.  

In the middle game of the Great Neck North series, Kyle Capoziello had a big day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two RBI. Cassese went six strong innings in the 10-1 win.

Farina is very pleased with the play of senior catcher T.J. Toscano. With a relatively inexperienced pitching staff, Toscano has done a terrific job of managing the game, and has cut down numerous would-be base stealers with his strong throwing arm.

With a three-game series against undefeated Jericho up next, and three each against Bellmore JFK and Garden City, a pair of perennially strong programs, Carey will be facing some big tests in the coming weeks

“So far, so good,” Farina said. “We’re getting contributions from a lot of different players. We have some real tough games coming up. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Carey welcomes in Manhasset next Monday at 10:30 a.m.