The Spiaggia Bombers: A Season Defined

Despite having the most successful season in Mirage history, your Bombers decided to put it all on the line and take a challenge that would make or break their year.

The boys: Skip Vaccarello, Tino Inacone, Pat Pipi, John Arena, Dom Pugliese, Marty Lisella, Joe Germano, PPP, Robin Greenwald, Artie Posillipo and Joe Feeny.

The opponents were a strong Van Dyk Raider team with an average age of 38. They were bigger, stronger and faster. With a 27-year age difference per man winning this game would be a tall order.

The Bombers looked a bit tight as they came to bat trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the first, but two out back-to-back doubles by Dom and Marty and a single by Joe G loosens things up and the Bombers take a 3-1 lead into the second.

Great defensive plays by Marty and Tino shut down the Raiders in their half of the second. For your boys it was BOMBS away as they bat around scoring five runs and increasing their lead to 8-1 after two.

The Raiders score one in the third, but your guys continue their onslaught with five in the fourth, two in the fifth, three more in the sixth and two in the seventh for a surprising and commanding 20-3 lead. I know what you're thinking: wow!

With a big lead, Skip calls off the dogs and the Raiders begin to flex their much younger muscles by hitting three of the longest home runs ever seen in our stadium. In the process, they score four in the eighth and three more in the ninth, but it was too little too late, so as the sun sank in the west your heroes coasted to an eye-popping and historic 20-10 victory on Brackman Field.

The keys to our dominance today came from what we have been preaching for years: Pitching combined with the play from the boys on the dirt will most always determine the outcome. This game was no different.

Dom was an absolute master on the mound as he continually had the Raiders off balance. He did not walk a single batter. It was a team effort, but Dom proved the centerpiece.

Marty and Tino had their vacuums out on the left side, John A on the right, Skip had the big scoop working at first and Artie was a rock behind the plate. It was big play after big play.

On offense, it was a combination of speed and power as Tino and Pat set the table with five hits each and Joe G had five RBIS. John A, Skip, Marty, Robin and PPP kept the line moving with clutch hits time after time.

Today Joe Germano typified the courage shown only be a select few this year. Despite crazy pain in both legs making it hard to even walk, a condition that would have most of us on the retired list, Joe none the less ignored the pain and stepped up with what was his best game of the season.

Here at the column, it is our job to entertain and most of all motivate our players to get off their butts and play ball. I think we do an OK job.

In our last message to the the team, we tried our best to bring out some of you that might have been a bit intimidated by today's competition. Not all responded. You thought we were crazy and had no chance. "Oh ye of little faith," we love all of you but we can't help but feel sorry that you for whatever reason choose not be with us for our special win.

In the Manager's show, Skip reflected on both the season and the events of the day. "These boys could have sat back and rested on the laurels of a nice season, but they decided to step out of the box and play a game that would either slap them back to reality or raise them up as Mirage immortals. Today proved the latter."

Most of us remember playing basketball one on one with our own sons or nephews, gauging year after year when they would finally be able to beat us. Finally around age 17 or 18 they did. We were both happy and sad at the same time. Most of today's competition were young enough to be our sons, and today we had a chance to relive that feeling. At this age very few do.