Spencerport reunion in coaches box

The final score of the Harley-Allendale-Columbia boy's varsity baseball game against Dundee was 6-5 H-A-C, but that only tells a small part of the story of this early May high school game. On the sidelines coaching were Spencerport High 1988 classmates Peter Mancuso, Dave Shortino and Chris Arnold.

Mancuso has been the athletic director for the past three years and head varsity baseball coach for four years at H-A-C with assistance from Shortino. Arnold is the head coach of the varsity at Dundee.

"The three of us all grew playing with and/or against each other in Spencerport junior baseball, said Mancuso. "We all started around 1977 and played through what was called Intertown back then and we were on many all-star teams together. Dave and Chris grew up just a few houses apart on Village Walk and the three of us have been really good friends since we were young."

After three years of playing shortstop for the varsity at Spencerport, Arnold continued his baseball-playing career at SUNY Cortland. Mancuso played two years of varsity for the Rangers at first and second base and later at John Carroll University and Shortino played one year of high school varsity at second base and the outfield. Frank Guary and Dan Brust were their head coaches.

"Once we all returned from college, we tried fastpitch softball for a few years at the old Gears Park," said Mancuso. Dave and I have been playing men's league baseball together since the spring of 1994 and Chris played out three years with us before moving for the job at Dundee."

On this Monday in May, it was Arnold who lost the wager to Mancuso and Shortino as the Wolves won their sixth consecutive game.