Commack's Evan Kay wins Paul Gibson Award as Suffolk's top pitcher
Evan Kay of Commack poses with the Paul Gibson Award during the Suffolk baseball awards dinner on Monday at Villa Lombardi's. Credit: Tom Lambui
Evan Kay set the gold standard for pitching on Long Island.
Commack’s righthanded ace established a Long Island record with 60 consecutive scoreless innings spanning this season and the latter part of 2023. He was a key cog in leading the Cougars to a fourth straight Suffolk title and a third Long Island crown in four years.
The Stony Brook-bound senior finished the season with a 4-2 record, a 0.66 ERA, 45 strikeouts in 42 1⁄3 innings and a .188 batting average against. He finished his career with a 15-3 record, 147 strikeouts in 134 innings and a 1.20 ERA.
Kay earned the Paul Gibson Award as Suffolk’s top pitcher at the Suffolk County Baseball Coaches Association dinner Monday night at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook.
“A bunch of alumni [were] asking me about Evan,” Commack coach Matt Salmon said after the Cougars’ 2-1 win over Farmingdale in the Long Island Class AAA championship game on June 1. “And I said, ‘Guys, he’s the best competitor I’ve ever coached.’ He has this look in his eyes almost like he can control the outcome.”
Kay, who pitches with a noticeable competitive fire, works at an electric tempo, which was on full display against Farmingdale. He struck out 11, walked none and allowed four hits in a complete-game win.
“All I said to my guys is, ‘If we can somehow finagle three or four runs against him, maybe we get a chance to win,’ ” Farmingdale coach Frank Tassielli said. “That would have done it, but we obviously didn’t do it . . . He was just lights out. We just couldn’t break his rhythm. We were trying, stepping out, but it didn’t matter. He got the ball and he was ready to go. He was impressive that day.”
As Commack reached new heights, no one embodied its success more than Kay. He also threw a two-hit shutout in the 2023 state semifinals and a nine-strikeout complete game to win the county title this spring.
“He’s got great stuff, but a lot of people have great stuff,” Salmon said. “But Evan is just a guy . . . The other guys feed off of Evan. He believes, and everybody starts to believe. He’s more impactful than anybody.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
