Carey falls in state baseball semifinals

ENDICOTT, N.Y. -- For a team that had never before gotten this close to going this far, it still seemed like it ended sooner than it should have.

Carey coach Marc Hedquist: "There's no way you can prepare for something like this unless you experience it first. I think we might've been a little overwhelmed."

Starting pitcher John Daddino: "I don't think we came out ready. We were flat this morning."

Shortstop Kyle DeMeo: "I don't think we were ready for it. A lot of us haven't been on big stages. I just don't think we were focused and ready to go."

Carey's season ended quietly Saturday morning in a 7-0 loss to Victor in the Class AA state championship semifinal at Union-Endicott High School. The Seahawks got three hits against lefty starter Matt Portland, who struck out six, walked three and didn't allow a runner to reach scoring position or a hit out of the infield until the sixth.

Carey (20-7) seemingly never recovered from the first inning when Portland, batting cleanup, laid down a squeeze bunt that chased home Cory McDonald. Daddino fielded the play but the ball was dropped at the plate to give Victor all the offense it would need.

"It was a reversal of fortunes," said Hedquist -- a nod to his team's own ability to manufacture runs. "We got out small-balled. We beat ourselves."

SEE PHOTOSCarey in Class AA state playoffs

The Blue Devils, who came into the game 22-1 and suffered their only loss on April 21, won the state title in 2004 and have made the trip three times in 10 years.

Daddino hit Portland to lead off the fourth before Josh Maves laid down another bunt that was thrown away to put runners on the corners. Pete Carrier singled in Portland and, one batter later, Branden Rhodes hit a screaming gapper to right-center to plate two more. Jon Simmons bunted for a base hit to again put runners on first and third and Daddino's errant pickoff throw scored Rhodes with the fourth run of the inning.

"We had the opportunity in that first inning to actually make a play on the squeeze, we didn't make the play," Hedquist said. "We had a pickoff play, we didn't make the play. We commit two more errors, [that] turns into a few hits and before you know it we're chasing five."

The five turned to seven in the seventh, when the Blue Devils scored two runs on four straight two-out singles off reliever Jesse Montalto. Until then, Montalto, who came in with one out in the fourth, had essentially tamed the Victor offense.

By that time, the Seahawks -- who were seeded fourth in the county playoffs and single-handedly subdued two heavy favorites in Calhoun and MacArthur -- didn't have enough left to slay another giant.

Despite the sour end, this Carey team made school history by winning its first county title. It defeated Sachem North to punch its first-ever ticket upstate and, Hedquist said, further united an already united Franklin Square community. Caravans of fans in Carey orange made the more than 200-mile trek.

"We had 500 fans making this trip," Hedquist said. "That's an example of how great this community is. There's no way we can diminish what we've done here."