Top baseball and softball performances of week on Long Island
St. Dominic relief pitcher Luke Lang stretches to the plate during a CHSAA baseball game against St. Francis Prep in Muttontown on April 11, 2023. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Our first week of Diamond Stars unveils some outstanding performances. The week kicked off with the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA opening the season on all four fields at the Moriches Athletic Complex in Center Moriches. While three fields cleared with winners from Chaminade, St. Mary’s and St. John the Baptist, perhaps the most compelling season opener forged well into the night.
Senior catcher T.J. Garrett lined an opposite-field, bases-loaded single to leftfield to crown a winner as St. Dominic outlasted Holy Trinity, 2-1, in a 10-inning walk-off win. While Garrett earned a player of the week designation, that designation would not have been possible without elite relief pitching from junior righthander Luke Lang.
Lang fired five shutout innings to earn the win. He allowed three hits, two walks and struck out 10, including the side in the sixth and eighth innings. Lang is Newsday’s first Diamond Star in our opening week.
BASEBALL
John Carroll, Chaminade: He fired a four-hitter with nine strikeouts and one walk in a 2-1 win over St. Anthony’s on Opening Day.
Hunter Colagrande, Kings Park: He threw five no-hit innings in a 4-0 win over Mount Sinai. He struck out eight. Matt Callaghan and Brandon Hauk threw a no-hit inning each to make it a combined no-hit gem.
Kyle Coppola, Deer Park: The junior catcher smoked a three-run home run in a 3-0 win over West Babylon.
TJ Garrett, St. Dominic: He lined a bases loaded single with no outs in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 2-1 win over Holy Trinity. He saved the game when he scrambled for a wild pitch and made a diving tag on the runner for the out at home plate in the seventh inning.
Garret Gates, North Shore: The hard-throwing lefty was perfect on Opening Day. He struck out 20 and threw a perfect game in a 2-0 win over Herricks.
Ben Kennedy, Smithtown East: He pitched five scoreless innings and struck out four in a 7-0 win over Newfield.
Derek Mateo, St. Mary’s: He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in a season-opening 8-1 win over Long Island Lutheran.
Anthony Vino, Sachem North: He allowed three hits in six innings and walked none in a 7-1 win over Connetquot.
Reid Walter, Cold Spring Harbor: He struck out nine and allowed no hits in four innings for the win in a 5-4 victory over Glenn.
Jordan Welch, Farmingdale: He pitched five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and no walks in a 7-0 win over Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK.
SOFTBALL
Andrea Arias, Carey: She went 3-for-3 with a double, triple and three RBIs in a 11-9 win over Clarke.
Addison Celi, Westhampton: She struck out 15, allowed two hits and went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs a 5-3 win over Eastport-South Manor.
Ashleigh Coyne, Calhoun: She hit a walk-off single in the seventh inning of Calhoun’s 6-5 win over Oceanside.
Isabella D’Andrea, Riverhead: She went 1-for-2 with three RBIs, including a go-ahead two-run single in the fourth inning of a 7-4 win over Patchogue-Medford.
Nicolette Ferraro, Syosset: She struck out nine and allowed one run on four hits and added an RBI single in a 4-1 win over MacArthur.
Syosset pitcher Nicolette Ferraro throws during Game 2 of the Nassau Class AA softball championship against Massapequa at the Mitchel Athletic Complex on May 29, 2023. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Emma Lombardi, Kings Park: She went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and an inside-the-park homer in a 3-1 win over Connetquot.
Kate Meyer, Sayville: She went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs in a 9-3 win over Kings Park.
Emma Priest, Wantagh: She went 3-for-4 with a triple, double, one RBI and three runs in a 6-2 win over Mineola.
Cat Surletti, Wheatley: She went 2-for-4 and hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the seventh of a 7-4 win over Floral Park.
Ava Zicchinelli, Miller Place: She struck out nine and went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in a 4-1 win over Islip.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
