Carey baseball moves to 2-0 after Mark Vera's early home run holds up in win over Bellmore JFK
Mark Vera, Carey third baseman, right, gets congratulated by teammates after connecting for a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning of a non-league baseball game against Bellmore JFK at Rath Park in Franklin Square on Tuesday. Credit: James Escher
The sun was shining bright on right during the home first late Tuesday afternoon at Rath Park. And so it was kind of hard to tell at first glance whether Mark Vera’s drive had cleared or bounced over the fence.
The two umpires met and came to this conclusion — two-run homer for Carey.
“I thought it went over the fence,” said Vera, who also thought much more offense was coming in this baseball game.
“You’ve got two good teams, expecting a lot of hits,” Vera said.
But the junior third baseman’s shot held up in a 2-1 non-league win over Bellmore JFK. The game in Franklin Square was called with one out in the bottom of the sixth due to darkness.
This was a rematch of a Nassau AA semifinal series from last May that went Bellmore JFK’s way. Vera sees a contender for a county title.
“We’ve got a lot of core guys back and we all want it,” Vera said. “We’re all determined every day.”
Coach Doug Robins sees a 2-0 team that gained valuable experience last season, playing in a difficult league and going through the postseason with five sophomore starters.
“We were battle-tested last year and it helped us in the playoffs,” Robins said, “and I think it’s going to help us moving forward.”
The Cougars are in a good place, too. They were a young team last season when a bid for the program’s first county title ended in the finals against Division.
“We’re excited,” coach Mike Gattus said. “We’ve got to continue to improve and keep working hard every day. It’s all about getting the reps early in the season.”
His team put a lot of traffic on the bases. But lefty starter Jacob Daddino, a Queens commit who threw the first 3 1⁄3, and lefty reliever Mike Agostino, the winner after pitching the final 2 2⁄3, worked out of the jams.
The defense also pitched in quite well.
“I thought the kids, when they needed to, made the big play,” Robins said.
Vera slugged his homer off Zach Adelstein. The righty took the loss but fanned 10 over 4 2⁄3.
Vito Mannino accounted for Bellmore JFK’s run, belting a homer to right-center in the sixth.
“We didn’t have great timely hitting today,” Gattus said. “I thought [their] reliever and starter did a really nice job pitching out of big spots and attacking our guys.”
