By Anthony DiCocco
To follow Babek, Ryan Yormack crushes a go-ahead, three-run bomb for the lead.
5-2 Bellmore JFK Mid Seventh. pic.twitter.com/ETj72s8MnJ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 31, 2026
In a Nassau County Class AA semifinals rematch, 1B/RHP Ryan Yormack displayed late-game heroics to propel the Bellmore JFK Cougars to their second straight win.
On Tuesday evening, the Cougars headed to Franklin Square, N.Y., for a non-league game with the Carey Seahawks. Despite being down 2-1 heading into the seventh inning, Bellmore JFK rallied for four runs, including a three-run homer off Yormack’s bat, to escape with a 5-2 win.
To start the game, right-handers Derek Yormack and Tristan Hickis were entrenched in a pitchers’ duel. Yormack was dominant, striking out eight batters while hitting one and allowing a double over three scoreless frames. For the Seahawks, Hickis matched him and more, allowing two hits and a walk with six punch outs across five shutout innings.
“[Derek] never ceases to amaze me,” Bellmore JFK head coach Mike Gattus said in a postgame interview with Axcess Baseball. “When he has the ball … he’s in complete control. Hickis pitched incredibly well, too.”
Once Derek Yormack was pulled from the mound for Dylan Babek — who started the game in right field — in the bottom of the fourth stanza, Carey jumped out to a 1-0 lead. Carey 3B Mark Vera drew a leadoff walk, and after stealing second base, RF Michael Agostino cracked a run-scoring double over LF Zach Adelstein’s head.
A walk came back to bite Bellmore JFK again during the following inning, as CF Jayden Gigante earned a free pass with two outs before swiping second base. With Gigante in scoring position, LF Brody Kennedy picked up a run batted in (RBI) by slashing an opposite-field single into right field.
Nonetheless, the top of the Cougars’ order broke through in the top of the sixth. With two outs and Agostino on in relief, Ryan and Derek Yormack reached base via a walk and hit-by-pitch, respectively, to start the rally. From there, DH Alex Demas worked another walk to load the bases before SS Matt Tolipano was issued a free pass to force in Bellmore JFK’s first run.
Ryan Yormack took the hill in the bottom half and worked a scoreless inning to keep the Cougars within a run. From there, Yormack and the rest of the Cougars’ bats came alive.
With Vera looking to secure the save, Bellmore JFK put runners at the corners. Though 3B Zack Mezrahi was thrown out at home on a squeeze bunt by Adelstein, Babek followed by lacing a game-tying, RBI single into right field.
“[Babek]’s just even-keeled,” Gattus said. “He has great composure and demeanor for baseball on top of his super athleticism. That really allows him to excel.”
With the score deadlocked, Ryan Yormack stepped up to the dish and played hero, as he demolished a three-run tank over the left-center field fence to put the Cougars ahead.
“[Ryan]’s phenomenal,” Gattus said. “Babek gets a nice hit to keep it moving and get it to [Yormack] and then he’s able to do that for the team.”
In the bottom of the seventh inning, RHP Max Goodman worked around a two-out triple by Gigante to make sure the Cougars exited Franklin Square with a 5-2 victory.
Ryan Yormack went 1-for-3 on the day with a homer, three RBIs, two runs scored and a walk. In his scoreless inning of relief, he worked around a single to earn his first victory at the varsity level.
Babek drove in a run while going 2-for-4. On the mound, he surrendered two runs on two hits, two walks and a strikeout in two innings of work.
Tolipano went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.
For Carey, Gigante went 2-for-2 with a double, triple, run, walk, hit-by-pitch and three steals. Kennedy’s lone single in four at-bats drove in a run. Agostino went 1-for-3 with an RBI double while Vera was hitless, but stole a base and scored after a walk.
With the win, Bellmore JFK improved to 2-0 on the young campaign. The loss represented Carey’s first of the season, dropping its record to 1-1-1.