Carey stopped in semifinals

Dreams of a trip to the county baseball finals came to an end for No. 3 Carey as it fell to Massapequa, 9-6, in Game 2 of a best-of-three Nassau Class AA semifinal series on May 21. The Chiefs scored nine times in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase a six-run deficit to take the series clincher. 

With the win, Massapequa (18-5) earned a trip to the best-of-three county championship series, where it will take on No. 1 MacArthur. Senior Nick Zuvic, Conference AA-IV Player of the Year, was 6-for-9 at the plate in the series for Carey.

After dropping game one on their home turf, the Seahawks sent All-County junior Erick Vilchez to the hill with their season on the line. Vilchez, who entered the game with a 6-2 record and a 1.83 earned run average, was spot-on into the sixth inning, and appeared to have the series headed back to Carey for a third game. 

Meanwhile, head coach Marc Hedquist was pulling all of the right strings. Whether it was with bunts, stolen bases, or hit-and-run plays, everything was going right for Carey. After scoring three runs in the top half of the sixth, highlighted by a Darren Rodriguez double, the Seahawks had a 6-0 lead and appeared to the game in hand.

Vilchez retired the first batter in the sixth, but Massapequa’s bats finally came to life. The Chiefs used line drives, bloop hits, and a few miscues by Carey to come all the way back to take a 9-6 lead before the third out was recorded.

Hedquist gave the Chiefs their props. “The Massapequa kids never stop working,” he said. “They don’t give away at-bats. They battle at the plate by working the count, fouling off pitches, and they’re really good a wearing down a pitching staff. They showed why they have a premier program.”

Carey finished with an overall record of 15-8. While Hedquist will have difficulty replacing his five seniors, Zuvic, Rodriguez, Mike Senese, Vinny Fortunato, and James Harrison, the future looks bright for the Seahawks.

“I told the boys that November, and winter workouts, can’t get here fast enough,” Hedquist said. “This was a great season. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from this team. They worked hard to improve, and did everything that was asked from them. We just ran into a very good team, and fell a little short.”