Thursday, October 1, 2026
For much of the season, Jack Scannapieco has dealt with shoulder pain. Until a bullpen session a few days ahead of Massapequa’s trip to Binghamton for the Nassau Class AAA final four.
“I think I had two weeks of rest. And then I threw a bullpen, and my shoulder just completely unlocked,” the junior said. “It didn't hurt anymore. All the pain went away, and my arm was just free.”
The ace was back and made sure the Chiefs were back on top of the mountain, defeating Liverpool, 7-1, to capture the New York State Class AAA baseball championship at Binghamton University Saturday.
It is Massapequa’s third state title and first in Class AAA.
“Knowing that my team has worked so hard to get to that game and then to come out and win, it’s the greatest feeling ever,” Scannapieco said.
Massapequa coach Tom Sheedy knew it was vintage Scannapieco on the hill when he retired the side in the first inning.
“We knew in the first inning he got two ground balls, that’s Jack Scannapieco,” Sheedy said. "He gets rollover ground balls, he throws strikes, and that was definitely a winning formula.”
Scannapieco earned the win, allowing one earned run on five hits, while striking out five with one walk in five innings.
“I was hitting my spots,” Scannapieco said. “My curveball was good. I was getting ground balls, my changeup was getting swings and misses. They were all coming together.”
An RBI-single to right field by junior rightfielder Chris Sultana drove in senior second baseman Brady Love to give Massapequa (25-3-1) a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Chiefs made it 2-0 on a bases-loaded walk by senior shortstop John Neary.
Joe Genova and senior third baseman Ryan Moore added RBI singles to extend Massapequa’s lead to 4-0 in the third inning. Genova went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
“He was aggressive,” Sheedy said of the junior first baseman. “He was looking for pitches, and he attacked, as opposed to being defensive and hesitant. That was the difference in Joe’s transition during this season.”
A Genova run-scoring double in the right-centerfield gap highlighted a two-run fifth inning, extending the Chiefs’ lead to 6-0.
Liverpool broke up Scannapieco’s shutout bid with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Senior Sal Apap came out of the bullpen, retiring all five batters he faced, striking out three to close out a remarkable season for Massapequa.
“I think the number one thing I'll remember from this group is the depth of the pitching staff. We’ve never had a pitching staff that was this deep,” Sheedy said. “Everybody knows their role, but this year there was so much talent. They really are a close-knit group, and that showed in how they supported each other.”
The Chiefs defeated Monroe-Woodbury, 5-3, in the semifinals at Union-Endicott on Friday night to book their spot in the final.
RBI doubles by Sultana and Genova capped a three-run first inning for Massapequa. Sophomore Jack Mulligan earned the win, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits, striking out four with three walks in four innings.
Genova added a run-scoring single and senior centerfielder Caiden Erker scored on a sacrifice fly by Moore to put the Chiefs in front, 5-2. Senior James Alonso earned the four-out save, allowing one unearned run.
“We really thought we had a team that had all the components that could be a possible state championship team,” Sheedy said. “You need a lot of things. You need very talented players with pitching, hitting, timely hitting and defense, and just people who can handle the mental part of the competition because things don’t always go your way.”
