(above) A group of friends reunited on the baseball field as the “Borough Boys” this summer.
Borough Boys Take the Field
Submitted by Jeanie Ruban
Ten boys from Mountainside reunited on the Pony League Field at Deerfield School on what turned out to be the nicest day of the summer.
After being rained out, the 16U Summer Sizzle USABL Tournament hosted by MSBL (Mountainside Softball & Baseball League) got underway. Governor Livingston High School Sophomores Georgie Provel, Johnny Schmidt and Timmy Smith were joined by GL Juniors Roman Andre, Michael Labisi, Gregory Patterson, Danny Pupo, Jimmy Ruban, Connor Tracy and Jackson Wenz, all close friends. These boys came up with the idea of taking the field together again while hanging out one summer night. They all have such fond memories of their younger years playing for Mountainside Youth Baseball. Some of them still play ball, others don’t.
Several have joined different club teams and haven’t played together in a while. They decided it was time to reunite and make some magic.
Fittingly, the boys asked Coach Worswick to coach them. Worswick was their coach when they all played together for the Deerfield Middle School baseball team. This was bigger than baseball. The self-named “Borough Boys” just wanted to “play ball” with their lifelong buddies.
They played three games on that beautiful fall-like Sunday. They made it to the championship game and lost to the Jersey City Saints, a team they had beaten in pool-play earlier that day. Although they lost on the field, they won in our hearts. Their smiles were priceless, the team camaraderie was unmatched. The field was packed with parents, siblings, grandparents, friends and classmates who enjoyed each other’s company as well. Hopefully these boys will make this a tradition and treat us all again in the summers to come.
