Sean Costello pitches Seaford to fourth straight shutout

Sean Costello sent the last batter down swinging in the fading light.

The sensational streak was still alive and well.

The Seaford starters have fired four consecutive complete-game shutouts, and this baseball team has claimed six straight games overall.

Costello now owns two of the shutouts. The junior right-hander tossed a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts and no walks in Monday’s 9-0, Nassau A-IV win at North Shore, a win that came complete with flawless fielding.

“Pitching and defense is every coach’s foundation, and that’s when you really get proud of your team, when they catch the ball and they throw strikes, and they do the things that Sean’s done,” Seaford coach Mike Milano said.

Costello is 4-0 after beating Wantagh, Clarke, Island Trees and now North Shore.

“I don’t know how many people know that,” Milano said, “but people should know that because this young man is giving us everything that we need.”

He yielded just three singles.

“The outside corner, I was really painting all day,” Costello said. “And I was trying to keep the hitters off-balance with my off-speed, changeup and kind of like a slurve.”

Costello also delivered three hits, including an RBI single in a first-inning rally consisting of three unearned runs against Matt Malone.

Brian Fader cashed in the first two, slicing a two-out double down the right-field line. Costello then lined his single into left to bring in Fader.

Billy Kind made it 5-0 in the second, launching a two-run shot over the leftfield fence.

“We have so much depth going one through nine,” Costello said.

Four more runs came in the sixth against North Shore’s relief corps.

“We’ve competed in just about every inning of every game this year,” North Shore coach Scott Lineman said after his team fell to 4-6 overall and in the conference. “Unfortunately, we’ve had three or four bad innings that have cost us games.”

Seaford is winning game after game. It moved to 8-2-1 and 7-2-1 in the tight A-IV race.

“If you would’ve asked on me Jan. 3 when we first started throwing that we’d have only two losses through 10 (A-IV) games, I would say that’s fantastic,” Milano said. “It’s an honor to be in the position we’re in versus the coaches and the teams that are in this conference.”