Roller-coaster ride for Carey

Losing the nucleus from last year’s Long Island championship team left Carey faced with the challenge of competing with a relatively inexperienced group against some of the county’s top programs.

It’s been an up and down campaign for the Seahawks. After an 18-2 loss to powerful Calhoun on May 3, the final game of a three-game series sweep that saw the Colts outscore Carey 43-10, the Seahawks are 8-8 overall, 7-5 in Conference AA-III. Senior Thomas Viverito was 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBI to lead Calhoun in the series finale.

“Inexperience has hurt us, especially against the stronger teams,” Carey coach Marc Hedquist said. “Calhoun is a very strong, veteran team. They hit from the top of their lineup to the bottom. Our pitchers battled, but their guys just kept hitting. We’ve been struggling most of the year with the bats. Hopefully, we’ll heat up when we get to the playoffs.”

While the team as a whole has been quiet with the sticks, the Seahawks have had plenty of production from senior Harry Smith, both at the plate and on the hill. Smith is batting .512 with a slugging percentage of .791, and is tied for the team lead in both RBI and stolen bases. On the mound, he has a record of 4-2 with an earned run average of 2.04. Smith has fanned 45 batters while walking only eight over 34-plus innings. Among Smith’s stellar pitching performances was complete game, 10-strikeout gem in a 13-2 win over Long Beach.

Senior Eddie Eymold has pitched better than his 2-2 record suggests. Eymold has averaged better than a strikeout an inning and has an ERA of 3.25 in his six starts. He’s also been one of Carey top threats at the plate. Eymold is hitting .370 with an on base percentage of .465.

Eymold had a strong series on the mound to lead the Seahawks to a three-game sweep of Herricks. In the middle game of the series, a contest that was delayed by lightning, he worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth inning to earn a save in a 6-5 win. The following day, Eymold went the distance in a 13-3 rout. The win was Carey’s sixth straight.

Prior to the season, Hedquist talked about needing Nick Safuto’s bat in the lineup. The senior hasn’t disappointed. Safuto is hitting .406 with an on base percentage of .469. He has also knocked in eight runs on the season.

Sophomore Andrew Ris, who went 3-for-3 with three RBI in a victory over Long Beach, has had good moments at the plate. Ris is batting .317 with 12 RBI. Juniors Vinny Fortunato and James Harrison have made the most of their opportunities. Fortunato has picked up eight hits in 14 at bats for a .571 average. Harrison is 7-for-17 for a .412 average.

Carey closes the regular season with three games against first-place Bellmore-JFK before opening the playoffs this Saturday.