Mamaroneck Baseball: Streak Ends

When you’re playing Mamaroneck 
High’s baseball team, you’d better pitch, and you’d 
better hit.

And most times that still won’t be enough.

It was Thursday as Scarsdale surprised the Tigers, 
7-5, behind the pitching of righty Colin Markel and 
three home runs — a first-inning solo shot by DH 
Henry Hirsch, a three-run homer in the third by 
David Wheeler, and what turned out to be the 
winning margin, a three-run blast by Ethan 
Shenberg in the fifth.

How big was this?

Well, Mamaroneck not only was the No. 1-ranked 
team in the state and the two-time defending state 
Class A champ; and not only was on a 12-game 
winning streak since losing a pair to open the 
season in Florida.

The Tigers had gone 45 games (44-0-1) without a 
league loss, since a 2006 loss to New Rochelle, and 
had only lost three games to New York state teams 
in four seasons.

So it was understandable that the postgame 
celebration, after Markel struck out DH Richard 
Dropkin, representing the tying run, to end the 
game, was a bit wild.

"It’s kind of like taking down No. 1," said Shenberg, 
who had not hit a home run this season until he 
powered a low curve from righty Greg Dennysenko 
over the left-center-field fence to put the Raiders up 
7-2 in the fifth. "You look at the state rankings, 
they’re No. 1. You look at the section rankings, 
they’re No. 1. You look at who won states the last 
two years, it’s them. You look at who beats us every 
year, it’s them. So when you can finally take them 
down in a game like this, you can’t really put it into 
words.

"Probably the biggest win I’ve ever been a part of in 
my life."

The Tigers aren’t the same team that won the two 
state titles. They graduated all but two starters, and 

one of those, star catcher Mike Rosenfeld, needed 
what likely was season-ending elbow surgery before 
the season began. The other returning starter, Sam 
Gruppo, was injured Thursday when he took a 
wicked bad hop off the left side of his face, causing 
a welt above the eye, and what coach Mike 
Chiapparelli said was a concussion. Gruppo, who 
was still dizzy and helped to the locker room after 
the game, was to have further tests and X-rays last 
night.

There were some other odd moments, too, such as 
Mamaroneck failing to get down a squeeze bunt in 
the fourth, having a runner thrown out on a perfect 
relay while tagging up from second on a long fly to 
center; and having a Scarsdale run taken off the 
board in the top of the seventh on an appeal that the 
runner left third too early.

Mamaroneck didn’t go away, getting strong relief 
from Sam Wallach after the Shenberg homer, and 
getting a two-run homer from Matt Mezansky to cut 
it to 7-5 in the sixth. So the Tigers remain a force, 
especially with bats in hand.

"I think we’re still in great shape," Chiapparelli said. 
"We’re 12-3. I think we’re a pretty good team.

"Give credit to their pitcher. That’s a great job. He 
wanted it bad."

He sure did.

"You know that you’ve got to keep your composure,"