"Marone, no third baseman," moans right fielder Mike Fassano from the back seat on the long bus ride up Route 287 to Bernardsville as the rest of us nod and groan.
"Now men, we'll play with the players we have," counsels Coach Zujk wobbling in the aisle as the yellow Romano's Bus jostles over the gap through third Watchung Mountain. "It's Wegrzyn on third base until Schenck is back."
We'd just lost strong-fielding Richie Schenck to an emergency tonsillectomy right before our fourth game of the postseason against the northern region champion of our Little League district. After three jubilant playoff wins with a steady lineup, it felt ill-fated to lose one of the starters.
His backup at third base was Larry Wegrzyn of the orange Congers, a mash-up of Conroy Funeral Home and Efinger Sporting Goods. Larry was another of Coach Tomaro's pitching proteges, though more prone to complaint than compliance. If the heart of our hitting lineup was Bound Brook's Italian army, our right-handed pitchers were the Polish firemen with Florczak and Wegrzyn. Us boys, however, didn't care one whit about ethnicity. What mattered was hitting the ball, throwing strikes, or laughing with your teammates. Larry had plenty of credibility for the first two, but his taciturn nature left him at the front of the bus.
That summer I was sitting right up there with Larry in the laugh-less section. My parents had separated after a big fight in the spring, and our mom wasn’t handling the home and the heat with her usual stoicism. In our household it was suddenly self-service for food and laundry while trying to dodge her sometimes unfocused anger. I hadn’t seen my father in three months and it was starting to feel like forever.
"All right Larry, see if you can throw it a little straighter from the mound,” croaks Coach Tomaro from the dugout as starting pitcher Sean Doremus whips his glove into a corner after walking the bases loaded.
Larry had been playing a decent third base up until the fifth inning, though he had to be saved from some off-target throws with nimble catches by first baseman Tony Izzo. This would be his first playoff appearance as a relief pitcher and it was in a pressured situation with a tie game. A wild pitch, a hit, a walk, or just a fly ball to the outfield and we’d be behind with one at bat to go.
“Settle down,” coaxes Matt Vischetti pushing mitt and ball hands downward after snagging the first pitch from over the hitter’s head.
“That’s it Larry,” roars Coach Tomaro as a pitch drops into the inside corner of the zone for a called strike.
The field gets quiet when the next throw nicks the outside edge for strike two.
“You’re out! booms the umpire as the batter whiffs at a sinker that drops below his swinging bat.
"Welcome to the playoffs," beams Coach Zujk stepping from the dugout to shake a smiling Larry Wegrczyn’s hand. "Now let's finish this one off!"
Final score: Bound Brook 7, Bernardsville 3
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