West Islip loses bid for State Championship but revels in outstanding 2008 season
By Ben Sklar
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The team walked onto the field with an aura of confidence. It was considered to be one of, if not the best team on Long Island. The players knew they were one-win away from finally going to a state championship game that would complete an already incredible season. The Long Island Championship game was a tale of two aces. Mike Mandarino for Massapequa, and Nick Tropeano for West Islip. Two players regarded as a couple of the best on the Island were squaring off for a game that meant everything.
Nick Tropeano proved to be an elite pitcher this season. With a 1.44 era, he's pitched nothing but lights out baseball all year. West Islip felt that as long as he was on the hill, it was a sure victory for the team. The West Islip game plan was very short and easy. Coach Mileti explained," Do what we've been doing all season, play hardnose baseball and have fun."
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| Senior Moran, avoids pickoff at first base. |
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But the Long Island championship game was something that did not exactly go as planned. Massapequa struck the star pitcher a little bit earlier than spectators and fans expected. An early inning first run homerun gave the Chiefs a 2-1 lead in the first inning. West Islip though did not seem to be worried. With a team batting average of .380, and a pitcher that they thought would settle down after first inning trouble, it seemed all the team needed to do was turn the switch on and it would be a comeback win for this talented team. However, as the game grew longer, the Massapequa bats came alive and the West Islip defense struggled. Committing four errors, one coming in the bottom of the third, they gave the Chiefs a 5-1 lead. It would be tough for any team to hit their way back from that kind of deficit. Mike Mandarino continued to pitch well, only allowing 4 hits throughout the game and delivered Massapequa an 8-2 victory.
Although this game was not the kind of game the Lions wanted to end their season with, don't tell West Islip Coach, Steve Mileti, that the season was anything short of a success.
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| Senior Nick Tropeano throws against Massapequa. |
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"A total success" explained Coach Mileti. For a program that hasn't won a league championship in 21 years or a county championship in 39 years, this was a breakthrough year. The coach honored his players as "a classy group of kids who loved to win, didn't back down and always kept their heads up." Although losing to Massapequa was a disappointment, the team has obviously realized that this season was just as successful as the coach believes it was.
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