Carey uses small ball to defeat MacArthur

A loose front tooth and a gauze pad wedged under his bottom lip weren't about to stop Anthony Licata from attending the John Daddino Show. After all, he had the best seat in the house.

Licata, the Carey catcher, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run and caught Daddino's gem, as the No. 4 Seahawks cruised to a 10-1 win over No. 2 MacArthur in Game 1 of the Nassau Class AA final at Farmingdale State Monday afternoon. Game 2 is 7:30 p.m. tonight. A win would give Carey its first county title.

Licata was hit in the face by a stray ball in pregame warm-ups, but his sister, who just came home from SUNY Plattsburgh, made sure he remained in the starting lineup.

"She said get back in the game, because she came all the way home to see this game," Licata said. "We were doing throw downs to second, I finish one, go to sit down for the next one, and all of a sudden I just see a ball in front of my face, and boom, right into my mouth."

Daddino pitched 52/3 innings, allowing no runs, one infield single, five walks and a hit batter. He struck out 10 and threw 105 pitches. He didn't allow a baserunner past second and had a no-hitter until his counterpart, Jesse Tuozzo, reached on an infield single with one out in the fourth. Still, Daddino wasn't entirely thrilled.

"I was a little wild today," Daddino said, "so my pitch count got high."

Daddino said he could maybe pitch an inning or two in a potential Game 3 on Thursday, but Carey coach Marc Hedquist said he wouldn't use his ace again in this series.

SEE PHOTOSNassau 'AA' finals: Carey 10, MacArthur 1

Licata, Carey's eighth-place hitter, singled up the middle in the top of the third to score Jack Young, and an error by the centerfielder allowed Harry Smith (2-for-4 with an RBI) to score, giving the Seahawks (18-6) a 5-0 lead. Said the senior: "I was very fired up, I wanted that hit today."

He also had a one-out bunt single in the fifth that began a five-run inning.

Carey didn't have an extra-base hit, but did have 11 singles (two on bunts), 10 walks and three steals. Leadoff man Tom Rydzewski sparked the offense, going 2-for-4 with a walk, steal and three runs. "We're about small ball," Hedquist said. "This is the kind of field, where you put it in play, do a little bunting, a little stealing, a little hit-and-running, and maybe force a team to make mistakes."

MacArthur's Tom Kelleher had the game's only extra-base hit, a pinch-hit RBI double to left in the seventh to put the Generals (19-6) on the board.

After the game, one would think Licata would be icing down and nursing his injuries. Guess again.

Yelled Licata: "Barbecue at my house later today!"