Carey swings into semifinals

It’s off to county baseball semifinals for the Seahawks.

Junior Erick Vilchez went the distance, and senior Darren Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with a home run as No. 3 Carey knocked off No. 6 Calhoun, 9-4, on May 15 to sweep the best-of-three Nassau Class AA quarterfinal series. Freshman Anthony Catapano added a home run and knocked in three runs.

With the win, the Seahawks, who improved to 15-6, advanced to the round of four, where they will take on Massapequa. The Chiefs, the Conference AA-I champions, defeated Oceanside in the quarterfinals.

Carey head coach Marc Hedquist, who was named Conference AA-IV Coach of the Year after leading the Seahawks to a league title, is pleased with his team’s progress. “While I knew we had the potential to get to this point, we needed a few things to happen to be successful,” Hedquist said. “We needed the young players to develop, and the veterans to meet or exceed expectations. Everything fell into place. The young players developed a little quicker than I thought they would.”

Carey entered the playoffs having won 11 of its last 12 games, and six straight. The torrid hitting that has the team batting average at .323 continued in the postseason. In the opening game of the Calhoun series, junior shortstop Andrew Ris went 4-for-4 with a home run and six RBI to lead the home team to a 13-9 win. James Harrison went 3-for-5 and scored a pair of runs.

Ris, who is hitting .435 after returning from an injury, has been outstanding both at the plate and in the field. “Getting Andrew back was one of the keys to our season,” Hedquist said. “His glove solidified our infield defense, and his hitting ability strengthened our lineup. He gave us a lot more flexibility.”

Catapano, who along with Ris earned All-Conference recognition, is having a remarkable freshman season. The platoon of senior Vinny Fortunato and Catapano at first base was very effective, but Fortunato suffered a shoulder injury. Catapano stepped in and is hitting .357 with a team-leading 27 RBI.

Rodriguez, an All-County honoree, Harrison, and second baseman Nick Zuvic, the Conference AA-IV Player of the Year, saw all of their hard work pay off. A lot was expected from the three seniors, and they didn’t disappoint. Harrison is batting .317, Rodriguez leads the team with five homers, and Zuvic enters the Massapequa series with a .394 average.

Vilchez, who earned All-County honors, is 6-2 with a 1.83 earned run average to lead the pitching staff. Junior Frank Liccardi, the team’s workhorse, is 4-1. Licciardi, who has eaten up 48 innings, picked up All-League recognition. Mike Rutigliano has been a pleasant surprise at the backend of the rotation. The sophomore hurler is 3-0 with a 2.74 ERA.

“Pitchers going deeper into games, and guys understanding and embracing their roles has enabled us to find ways to win the close games,” Hedquist said. “If we can keep hitting the way we’re hitting, we can compete with anyone.”