Carey wins Long Island Class AA title

They called him Johnny Gems back in the day.

John Daddino's athletic resume is so long and well-established that the senior not only has a nickname, but a nickname that's fallen out of use. He got it, not for the large studs he sometimes wears in his ears, but for gems he'd chuck on the mound.

After six mostly dominant innings Sunday from the Carey ace, Sachem North had two runs in and the tying run at the plate. Johnny Gems needed just one more. He got it.

Daddino induced a fly ball to center for the final out and it gave Carey a 5-3 win over the Flaming Arrows in the Long Island Class AA championship game at Farmingdale State.

The senior, a four-year starter, allowed three runs, five hits, a walk and a hit batsmen and struck out 13 for his fourth postseason win. Carey moves on to the state tournament in Binghamton next week.

"It's amazing," Daddino said. "And it's even bigger because it's the first [title].''

Although the pitcher admitted he struggled with his control, Daddino said he was feeling healthy for maybe the first time in his varsity career. Whereas, earlier in the year, he asked to be removed in a game against Calhoun because of arm fatigue, Sunday he begged coach Marc Hedquist to let him finish the seventh.

SEE PHOTOSCarey 5, Sachem North 3

"He said 'Please let me finish,' " Hedquist said. "Maybe it wasn't the best baseball decision, but I let him."

Carey's Tom Rydzewski tripled on Mike Vitale's first pitch to spark a three-run first inning. Steve Marino had an RBI single to give Carey a 2-0 lead. With Marino on the move, Jack Young hit a seeing-eye grounder through the right side of the infield to put runners on first and third. With the infield playing in, Ron Licciardi hit a two-out blooper inches over the second baseman's outstretched glove to score Marino.

Sachem North (21-5) got one back in the third on Alex Sole's RBI single, but Carey answered with a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning. DeMeo singled to lead off the third and came around to score on Harry Smith's grounder past the diving shortstop.

DeMeo went 3-for-3 and reached base four times, scoring twice. Marino, a junior, went 1-for-2 with a walk, a run and two RBIs.

SEE PHOTOSNewsday's best high school photos

It was mostly smooth sailing until the seventh, when Mike Scarlato reached on an error and moved to second on a wild pitch. One batter later, Daddino walked Steve Kowalski. The runners moved to second and third on a passed ball before Alec Sole drove in two with a two-out single to left. With the count 3-and-1 on the next batter, Daddino buckled down and induced a lazy fly ball to centerfield for the out.

"I threw a lot of pitches in the seventh inning," Daddino said. "But I still felt strong."

It turns out, Johnny Gems picked a good time to shine.