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Talented Pitching Staff Makes West Islip Formidable Once Again

by Max Edelman

Special thanks to Metamorphosis Landscape Design for sponsoring this year’s season preview series.

The regular season was a strong one for the West Islip Lions in 2023. The Lions roared to a 20-5 overall record, a 17-3 league record, and sixth league title in seven years. However, the season did not end in a championship. Despite winning three of their playoff games, the Lions lost two games to Lindenhurst, which ended their season. Head coach Shawn Rush, who is entering his 14th season as West Islip head coach, looked back on last season and looked ahead to what should be an exciting 2024 for the Lions.

“It was a good season.” Rush said. “We won a league championship, which is always one of the goals we have. We had some quality senior leadership that brought us to where we were. We didn’t reach our ultimate goal but still a solid season by our standards.”

Of the players who graduated from West Islip last season, three have continued playing baseball at the college level. Frank Romano, who was the league’s MVP last season, is now playing at Queens College. All-League catcher Thomas McElwee is at the University of Albany. Also All-League, Alex Burciaga, is now pitching at SUNY Cobleskill.

Of the Lions returning players, two have been three-year players for the team. Chris Piropato and Baruch commit Calvin Adam. Both Priopato and Adam are entering their senior seasons for the Lions, and Rush expects them to be not only important players but important leaders as well.

“They’ll play a big part for us.” Rush said. “Piro in the lineup, and Calvin will definitely be in the rotation. Calvin had an injury a week before the season, so he never really got to show what he truly is. Piro started pretty much every game for us in the outfield.”

Outside of baseball, Piropato also plays football, earning All-State honors. For Adam, despite missing a portion of the season due to injury, he still shined on the mound. In four starts, Adam went 2-0 with 20 strikeouts. 

Returning as an All-County player is Evan Byrnes. Byrnes had a stellar year in 2023. In the regular season, he was perfect. Byrnes carried a 6-0 record on the mound, striking out 58 batters in 48 innings, and not allowing a single run. It wasn’t until the postseason when Byrnes was finally burned. Despite that, Byrnes finished the regular season and playoffs with a combined 7-1 record and a .59 ERA.

The team’s right fielder a season ago, Erick Burciaga is moving from the outfield to behind the plate, where he will take over as the team’s catcher. Last season in 25 games, Burciaga hit.402 Despite the position change, Rush has confidence in Burciaga to continue his offensive production, even with the move behind the plate.

“Erick’s a very good catcher.” Rush said. “He had a senior in front of him last year but he’ll definitely be strong there.”

Derek Rivera, who started at shortstop for the Lions every game last year, also hit .309 at the plate. Shaun Boyle, who started for West Islip in the outfield every game last year, was praised by Rush for his elite defense and timely hitting in the playoffs. Utility player Jake Romeo plays infield, outfield, and comes out of the pen for the Lions. Romeo came up big for his team in their playoff game against Smithtown West, tossing five shutout innings with six strikeouts in relief. 

Despite not playing much last year, several players could see increased roles for West Islip in 2024. Sean Cantwell could see time as both a pitcher and a first baseman. Morovian commit Austin Bekalo will look for an increased spot in the lineup as well. Rush has been impressed by all the work his returners have put in and believes they have what it takes to compete.

“They’ve all been putting in work in the offseason.” Rush said. “We’re in a really good league. Some really good teams. We have our work cut out for us. It will be a good test for us to see where we match up.”

While the Lions will mostly be made up of returning players, there will be some newcomers to the team this season as well. Junior Alex Abi-Zeid, could see some time on the mound this year. Also, freshman Brian Brower could find playing time on the Lions returner heavy roster.

“He’s shown the work ethic.” Rush said. “Not many freshmen crack the lineup for us, but when they have, they’ve been very special players.”

When asked what the strength of his team was, Rush pointed to the pitching staff. Rush believes that players, such as Romeo, who shined in their limited time on the mound last year, will get the opportunity to play big roles in 2024.

West Islip will open their season at Smithtown West. They will look to regain their championship form – as they did in 2008, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

 

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Vinny is the President of Axcess Baseball. He is a 2013 graduate of Adelphi University and he is currently the Long Island area scout for the San Diego Padres

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