Mirage Softball: Another Spring Championship Season

Fourteen members of the Mirage traveled over to Waretown, their mission: Bring home the championship.

Skip Vaccarello, Rich Zaccagna, Pat Pipi, Jerry Giemzo, Marty Lisella, CSM Thomas, Robin Greenwald, Jay Lombert, Joe Germano, Andy Gish, PPP, Bill Farmer, Mike Pappas and Artie Posillipo.

The boys were both fired up and focused as they scored five in the first, one in the second and one in the fourth as they build up a 7-1 lead.

Things were looking good, but Heritage did not quit, and to their credit score one in the sixth and four in the seventh. Now suddenly we have a 7-6 game.

You could see that things were getting a little dicey in the Mirage dugout. It went from a laugher to a white knuckler in a blink of an eye. The boys looked tight.

Skip calls the team together. "Guys, we worked long and hard to get here. Don't let it slip away now."

Artie then thought this would be a good time for him to chime in. "Listen to Skip, because you won't want to hear what I will have to say next inning."

With some clutch hitting from the middle of our lineup, your boys score one in the seventh and one in the eighth and finish with a 9-7 victory, and with a 15-2 record the Mirage clinches their third championship in as many years.

Mirage still has four games left in the spring schedule (the fall season begins in August) but with that record, there is no way anyone can match that winning percentage. You can look for another spring championship plaque to be on display in the Mirage clubhouse before labor day.

In the managers' show, Skip said that the boys deserve all the credit. "It was our worst year injury-wise. We lost our two aces on the mound before the season even started to shoulder surgeries."

We had no idea who was going to pitch.

Seeing that we were in trouble, 79-year-old Artie agreed to come out of retirement. It was a good thing he did. Between him and Lou Traficante, respectability came back to our pitching staff.

Rookie Joe Dolinoy was being counted on to fill a spot in our infield but a preseason injury sidelined him for the season. Our base-running coach Crazy Legs Z played at half speed all season (maybe that wasn't such a bad thing) because of a broken ankle suffered on the football field in November.

Skip missed the first six games of the season because his agent, D. Vac Inc., dragged him halfway around the world looking for prospects in Panama.

With all this going against us, we were picked to win no more than five games this year. Reading that headline, all the boys stepped up and played as one, bringing home what has to be the most satisfying championships in Mirage history. Teamwork was the theme all year, and it proved front and center in the championship game.

A team is more than a roster or a name upon a shirt. Teamwork an honor are baseball's beacons of light and you guys continue to set the example for all to see.

Congratulations for a job well done. No curfew tonight, boys.