Calhoun overwhelms opponents

It can be said that every blizzard starts with a single snowflake. Trying to transfer that onto the baseball diamond would be a little tough, because it’s hard to say exactly which base hit has led to Calhoun burying its recent opponents with an avalanche of runs. After a two-game hiccup against Kennedy, the Colts (13-3 overall, 10-2 in Conference AA-III) have exploded for a combined 66 runs in four straight wins.

The victories assured Calhoun no worse than second place in the conference and kept it just one game behind the front-running Cougars. The Colts opened their final regular-season series after presstime, while the first round of the playoffs is scheduled to open this Saturday. “We’re hoping we can continue the hitting and the pitching and playing good defense,” coach Joe Corea said.

Held to just two total runs in the two losses against Kennedy, Calhoun went from ice cold to red hot in the final game, a 31-12 victory on April 27. The lineup clicked from top to bottom and every Colt that had an at bat got a hit — 18 in all — including senior Nick Saverese who connected on a solo home run in his one plate appearance.

The most recent win, a 10-2 decision on May 3, completed a three-game sweep of Carey, the defending Nassau County Class AA champions. Senior cleanup hitter Tom Viverito had four hits, including a two-run home run and drove in five runs, while junior pitcher Kevin Hiss struck out nine batters over five innings and allowed just two runs. Viverito also led the hit parade in an 18-8 win over Carey the previous day, banging out three hits in four at-bats with three more RBI, while senior Robbie Rosen also drove in three. Seniors Alex Rodriguez and Jon Goldberg added home runs in the win. As host as the bats have been, so too has the pitching.

Senior Frank Trimarco struck out 14 and allowed just one hit and a walk in a 7-0 victory over the Seahawks on May 1. Senior Alex Vargas allowed just two runs in his start against Carey, while Viverito has settled into the closer’s role and Goldberg has rounded into form in the bullpen. “Pitching and defense are the No. 1 things you have to have in the playoffs, because you’re facing all these good pitchers,” Corea said.

The 31-run outburst against Kennedy came after a 3-2 loss on April 23 and a 9-0 defeat the following day. In the first defeat, after blanking the Cougars for the first six innings, Calhoun committed three errors and allowed three runs in the seventh, including the game-winner on a sacrifice fly.

“Their first two pitchers threw great games and kept us on our heels,” Corea said. “I think that first game was such a tough loss that we were down the next day and couldn’t believe [how we lost].”