Chemistry, Camaraderie Brings Confidence To West Boca

Dominic Iagrossi races for home in a recent game.

There’s something to be said for friends growing up playing baseball together. For a group of nine seniors on the West Boca Raton roster, two constants in their lives have been baseball and each other.

They experienced the ups and downs of learning the game in the recreation league, expanded their skills in the travel leagues and competed on the high school level together.

Now it all comes down to one final season together before nature will take over and cause many of them to go their separate ways. Some may not play the sport again, but they’ll always have that bond that comes being part of a team. Things like that don’t die.

That camaraderie has the players feeling good about the year ahead. Win or lose, though, they know they’re going to enjoy the ride.

“A lot of us have played together since a young age. We’ve competed against each other in rec since like 5, and we’ve played together since like 8, so we’ve been together for a long time,” senior shortstop Koby Pepia said. “It’s going to be fun playing with everyone, especially being my senior year.”

Senior pitcher and center fielder Angelo Dovas is among those in the friends-for-life group.

“It’s been a long road for us,” said Dovas. “We’ve always played together, playing travel ball up until now. We’re all good friends. We’ve never really had any arguments, always got along. We love to win. We’ve always competed where we went, and they’re always fun to play around with.”

Joe White returns as an infielder this year.

Dovas said he and his teammates love to compete and get pumped just being around each other in a game atmosphere.

“We love the intensity. In the dugout, we’re always going crazy,” he said. “People criticize us for it. We’re always into the game, ready to win. Our biggest motto is whatever we’ve gotta do to win.”

This group proved that they can win. The Bulls had a strong 2013 campaign, going 20-7 and making it to the regional final where they lost to playoff rival St. Thomas Aquinas. The 20 victories were an improvement over the 16 the team earned in 2012.

Manager Nick Siano is looking forward to the upcoming spring season knowing the type of chemistry that exists among this “unique group.”

“They’ve kind of seen each other grown, and I’m excited to see what a senior group can do,” Siano said. ““Our chemistry is really good. The chemistry is big. You can definitely notice it. It definately plays a role in that they like working hard and work for each other.”

The key pieces that make it work for this club are also starting to slide into place. In addition to senior leadership, pitching is going to be another strength for the Bulls. They are delighted for the return of Sean Gabel, who missed last year because of injury. He’ll be in the rotation along with last year’s workhorses, Dovas and Bradley Busch. When Gabel left his first start of the season due to the injury, it left a large void in the staff. Dovas emerged to shoulder that load, and Bradly Busch grew comfortable and confident in the lead role. Now the trio all have a season together in which they have the potential to be a dominant force. Gabel has kept his desire to win well alive during the hiatus and returns with a simple plan for this year.

“I just want to go out there, keep them to a minimum of runs, let my offense do the work, and get a W,” said Gabel.

Dovas said Gabel back in the rotation will be a big help and will “take some throwing off of Brad and I, and maybe we’ll get more quality innings than having to throw sore.”

The pitchers are also confident the defense behind him will make fewer errors this year, a problem that hurt the team at times last season. The team will need to be more on top of its game with an expanded new district that features familiar foes Atlantic, Lake Worth and Olympic Heights but also includes Dwyer, Palm Beach Lakes, Forest Hill and Royal Palm Beach.

Sean Gabel will bolster the pitching staff after missing last year because of injury.

“The only [new] teams I really know about are Royal Palm and Dwyer,” Gabel said. “Dwyer’s got Szapucki over there. I’ll be excited to pitch against him. Royal Palm, we’ve had some past games against them, so I think it’s going to be fun this year.”

The change in district competition means 14 district games instead of only six last year, meaning two district games a week instead of one.

In addition to adjusting to the challenge of a larger, competitive district, the Bulls also will need to replace heavy hitters Sean Kuchta, last year’s home run leader, and Michael Mule. With proven guys such as Pepia and Bradley Busch, the focus will continue to be to execute with runners on base and put the ball in play. West Boca has typically thrived on moving runners station to station and capitalizing on scoring chances.

Whatever the outcome this year, the Bulls are focused on not ending the year as badly as it did with their 11-1 regional championship loss to St. Thomas.

“They just outplayed us, and that leaves a hunger,” Siano said. “They don’t wanna go out like that. They still talk about that today, and the fashion of how we lost left a sour taste in their mouths. But it put a fire under their butt. If we get a chance like that, I don’t think it’ll happen that way again.”

Even with the challenges that lie ahead this spring, the air of confidence the team exudes will make a difference for the Bulls.

“You can have all the talent in the world, but if you have team chemistry like we do, you’ll definitely go far,” Pepia said. “Last year, we had a couple of bad situations with our players, but this year, it’s going to be fun times with all of our guys and it’s going to be a good year.”

Leave a comment using your facebook account!