Mignano IS Shoreham-Wading River baseball

He is Shoreham-Wading River baseball. Sal Mignano is the only varsity baseball coach Shoreham has ever had. He coached for one year in the middle school in the spring of 1976 and started the varsity program in 1977.

The 1971 Oceanside graduate, an outstanding pitcher at C.W. Post before graduating in 1975, has brought an enthusiastic and energetic style to the Wildcats. He endured the usual growing pains to turn the school into a powerhouse, winning 10 league titles, five county and one state crown. He has guided the Wildcats to 25 straight playoff appearances and is the patriarch of the program. At his side for 27 years has been assistant coach Ray Maccagli.

1 His first Suffolk title (1986) came against a stacked and top-seeded Glenn. Mignano said his Wildcats sneaked into the postseason as a No. 4 seed and beat Islip to get to the final. His third starter Kevin Verdi turned in a memorable performance in an 8-4 victory over Glenn for the school's first county crown. Mignano recalled 16 fly-ball outs at the wide-open Glenn field.

2 In 1987, in the state semifinals, righty Keith Osik pitched a one-hitter in a 2-0 win over Port Chester. Osik escaped a bases- loaded jam in the seventh inning with two strikeouts. "He begged to pitch against Chenango Forks in the final and I refused," Mignano said. But Osik came on in relief and preserved a 5-4 lead with four shutout innings. With two outs and two on, Osik threw a nasty breaking pitch for a called strike three, punctuating the school's first state title. "I'll never forget that last pitch," he said.

3 How about all of 1977? Mignano said he was only five years older than the players on the team. It was a challenge to build a foundation and develop a tradition. "That first experience is unforgettable,'' he said. "You re- member the little things that were vital to the growth of the program. The first year was like first love - every move was critical."

4 Mignano started an alumni game in 2002. He's had up to 60 guys at the field. "That's the most enjoyable day for me," he said. "It's so satisfying to see the impact you had on young people and how they went about their lives." Brian Connelly (1981) pitched four scoreless innings and John Rivera (1993), a pitcher in high school, homered in this year's game.

5 There is symbolism in the 500th win. The path to 500 started with an inaugural team that went 4-18. "The road to 500 is about where we started and where we've been," he said. "We established a program and we've been a consistent model of success." Mignano points to two little-known catchers who were backups on the middle school and junior varsity teams but worked their tails off to start for the varsity. He cited Travis Tastrom in 2001 and Erik Roberts in 1992. "I got the ultimate compliment in 1992 when an opposing coach said, 'SWR is not the best team but they are the best TEAM.' And what he meant was, we didn't have the most talent - but we were a team.''