West Babylon's baseball journey ends in state semifinal
West Babylon outfielder Sean McGuire during the state semifinals on Friday, June 9, 2023. Credit: JORGE MARCANO
VESTAL — The Eagles from West Babylon will reflect on their trip to Binghamton University and rue the missed opportunities in Friday’s state Class A semifinal — the eight runners left on base, the five left parked at second.
Columbia senior righthander Jacob Skarlis escaped all of the jams across seven innings. He pitched a two-hitter in a 3-0 win that gave the Blue Devils a berth in Saturday’s title game here against Section I’s Walter Panas.
But when the Eagles reflect on this baseball season overall, they will remember the greatness of a 22-5 journey that included Suffolk and Long Island titles for the first time since 1994.
“Today’s pretty terrible,” said senior leftfielder Sean McGuire, whose team was limited to two singles. “But I’ve been playing with these guys for 10 years. These are my guys for my whole baseball career . . . You look back and we had an incredible year. We won championships.
“We came up a little short today, but I have nothing but love for these guys. This has been an amazing run. These are bonds I have forever.”
Columbia (19-6) nicked junior righty Jace Alvino (7-1) for an unearned run in the first on a two-out infield error.
Alvino yielded the other two runs with two outs in the sixth on a hit batter and a walk with the bases loaded.
“I thought they were a very good team,” Blue Devils coach Chris Dedrick said. “I thought the pitcher was excellent, had great stuff.”
In the end, West Babylon had to settle for making the state’s final four. “Obviously, we’re very happy to be here,” coach Victor Manzella said. “Our ultimate goal was to win the state championship. That didn’t happen. But my guys battled all year. They battled this game to the end. I’m proud of these guys.”
