By TONY BELLISSIMO
There's no shame in losing to a defending state champion.Valley Stream Central's baseball season came to a close in the second round of the Nassau Class AA playoffs on Monday afternoon, but fell 5-1 at Massapequa.
The Eagles, who ousted Plainview-JFK two days earlier, managed only four hits against Mike Mandarino. The Chiefs got all the offense they would need in the bottom of the second when Matt Bayer singled home two runs.
"We fought up until the very end," Central's first-year coach Mike Forthofer said. "I just told the guys how proud I am of them and what they accomplished this season."
Junior Jeff Andersen settled down after a so-so start and pitched well in defeat. "We lost to Massapequa in a non-league game on April 9 and we knew they could crush the ball," Forthofer said. "They were hitting Jeff's fastball early but once he started mixing up his pitches they didn't do too much. He had them off-balance."
The Eagles (11-12 overall) got their lone run when Andersen drove home Stony Brook-bound senior Rob Inzerillo.
"We put up a good fight," Forthofer said. "We left some runners on base and didn't come up with any key hits. They've got a very strong team. They don't seem to make mistakes."
The same can be said of Plainview-JFK, which competed in arguably the best conference in the county. The Hawks came to Firemen's Field last Saturday as the favorite in the mind of some but the combination of Inzerillo's arm and senior second baseman Matt Caputo's bat led Central to a 6-4 victory.
Inzerillo, who earned All-County honors this spring as well as Conference AA-III MVP, picked up his ninth win of the season against one loss. He went the distance, scattering seven hits. Caputo, who was named All-Conference, had a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to set the tone. Senior catcher Phil Ynacay drove in two runs and senior outfielder Steve Maroschick had a run-scoring double.
"It was a real satisfying win," Forthofer said. "We rose to the occasion. Rob got out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fifth and that really sparked us."
The Eagles were seeded No. 8 in the tournament after going 8-7 in conference play. They took two of three games against Herricks to close the regular season. Senior Dan Kehoe, an All-Division performer, pitched a complete game three-hitter in a 10-2 victory in the finale. Caputo had four hits and scored three times.
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