Tyler Scarry pitches No. 5 Division to playoff win over No. 4 Carey
Tyler Scarry of Division winds up his pitch during Class AA playoff game against Carey on Saturday. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Tyler Scarry got a taste of playoff baseball last spring when he was called up to varsity during Division’s run to the Nassau Class AA title, its second straight county crown after winning Class A in 2023.
When the junior righthander took the mound in Franklin Square on Saturday, he embodied what Division is all about.
Scarry tossed an eight-inning complete game to lead No. 5 Division to a 5-2 road win over No. 4 Carey in the Nassau Class AA double-elimination round-robin playoffs. Scarry struck out one, walked one and allowed eight hits and two runs. He excelled at pitching to contact, inducing 11 non-bunt groundouts and keeping the ball inside the park.
“His father [Chris] played in the program in 1992 and played at Hofstra, so he has that in his blood,” Division coach Tom Tuttle said. “I played with his father. Yeah, he's a Blue Dragon. The blue blood runs through his veins. He's got toughness, and he's Levittown tough. So yeah, I wasn't surprised one bit how he pitched today.”
Said Scarry: “My offspeed was working great today. I felt it in the bullpen today, and I knew I was ready to go. I was able to get ahead with three different pitches, and it was really just that.”
It was the second playoff game for both Division (17-5) and Carey (16-5) after each team defeated No. 9 South Side earlier in the week.
The teams will meet again at Carey at 4:30 p.m. Monday. If Division wins, it advances to a best-of-three semifinal series set to begin Friday. If Carey wins, the teams will play at Division on Wednesday for the right to go to the semifinals.
The Blue Dragons scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning. Jason Perez walked, Isiah Marino hit an infield single and Scarry singled to load the bases with one out. Division scored the three runs in the next two at-bats following two infield errors.
“We're the toughest team in the county,” said Marino. “It was all energy. From the first inning on, the boys were rallying all game, and we love it.”
Marino played an exceptional shortstop and went 2-for-3 with a first-inning solo home run and two runs scored.
Scarry (2-for-3) hit an RBI sacrifice fly in the third inning to extend Division’s lead to 2-0.
Carey’s Jack Degnan (2-for-4) hit a two-out, two-run double in the fourth to tie it at 2.
Carey righthander Tristan Hickis struck out 11 and allowed only three hits over 7 1/3 innings, exiting with men on first and second in the eighth after reaching the 125-pitch playoff limit. He also went 2-for-3 with a walk.
“You got two good pitchers battling and throwing strikes,” Carey coach Doug Robins said.
Said Scarry: “Credit to Hickis, he pitched really well and he pitched to win, too. I knew from the start of the game he was going to be like that, so I knew I had to be on my best game.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
