Carey has pieces to succeed

A season is full of highs and lows, and the Carey softball team is learning that early on to begin its 2024 campaign.

Through four games, Carey is 2-2, with each win as exhilarating as its losses have been frustrating.

The Seahawks’ offense was unstoppable in wins against Valley Stream North and Clarke, where they won by a combined total of 27-15. However, both offensive onslaughts were followed up by a shutout loss.

“The kids are resilient,” Carey coach Anthony Turco said. “A lot of kids have experienced it and have been around it. They know what to expect, how to approach it and how to get after it. They have the varsity experience and know how to handle the situation right now.”

While the offense has been largely hit-and-miss, Andrea Arias is off to a torrid start. While she hasn’t cemented her own role in the field quite yet, she’s left Turco no choice but to keep her in the lineup by hitting close to .400 to begin the year.

Arias is just one of a few players the Seahawks have in their lineup who is a home run threat every time she steps to the plate. Overall, Turco feels the pieces are there for Carey throughout the order but is still looking for the right balance between power and contact.

Grace Leimburger sets the table as the leadoff batter as she has each of the last three seasons. Along with co-captain Lauren Peers and Sabrina Chapman, the trio sets the tone for the rest of the team.

“They're not very boisterous leaders. They just lead by example,” said Turco. “They come every day, they work hard and they do the right thing. That's the culture that we have. We have a culture of kids that care for each other, that look out for each other and want to be successful whether they're in the lineup that day or not.”

Even without consistent run support, pitching has remained steady for the Seahawks. Emily Lehane has started three of Carey’s first four games, accruing eight strikeouts while pitching mostly to contact.

“She throws strikes,” said Turco. “She’s not a power pitcher at all. She won’t throw the ball by people, but she does have some movement on her pitches. She throws some offspeed stuff, which gets batters off balance.”

Adrianna Barragan has also been serviceable when given the ball, as too has Peers. She earned the win in her one start thus far but her talents are needed much more at the plate than they are in the circle.

Although conference play is already underway, the Seahawks still have time to sort themselves out.

“We always talk about there being three seasons,” said Turco. “There’s preseason, the regular season and then there is playoffs. Right now, we just started season two. Hopefully, we can get after it.”

Carey plays a stretch of six straight games within Conference 2 with matchups against Seaford, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK, Herricks and Division before a brief non-conference reprieval against Long Beach.