Behind the Scenes at the Little League District 18 Championships

It's 3 p.m. on Friday. While many folks are preparing for the commute home on the usually clogged Garden State Parkway, Rich and Patti Smith and their 10-year-old son, A.J., are at the Berkeley Little League complex.

Rich and A.J. are loading orange traffic cones and "no parking" signs into a motorized cart. Patti is in the kitchen of the concession stand, preparing for the games scheduled that evening in the District 18 Little League tournaments.

"We're retired, so we have the time," Patti Smith says, as she hunts for gloves for the food preparers to wear that evening and prepares jugs of ice water for the umpires. The Smiths were heavily involved when their adult sons played baseball in Toms River years ago, so this is nothing new to them.

"It all comes back to our kids," she says. "Everybody just pitches in."

In the background, a tractor hums as Glenn Bearden drags a screen across the dirt portion of Leiter Field in preparation for the night's District 18 championship game in the Senior League division. Manchester has forced the "if" game, after it surprised powerhouse Holbrook the night before.

Rich and A.J. head off to place the cones at strategic points along the side streets nearest to the complex

"We try to reduce the inconvenience to the neighbors," Berkeley Little League President Robert J. Everett Jr. says.  "As much as we can, anyway."

There are three games scheduled -- the Senior League final, and two games in the 11-year-old tournament that's still in pool play.

"These were rained out last Friday," Everett says.

Berkeley agreed to host them because other fields already were in use.

"We had games at Barnegat and Manchester tonight, as well as here," Dereck Davis, the District 18 commissioner who's on hand for the Senior League game.

"Tomorrow I have to go to Barnegat in the morning to open up (Davis is the vice president of the Barnegat Little League) and then to Stafford, and I'll be back here in the evening," Davis said. "Toms River (East Little League) has games all day."

Davis, like the others, volunteers his time to Little League. Keeping track of all the games in all the age groups is a challenge.

"There are 160 games on here," he says, motioning to the clipboard full of paperwork, including spreadsheets showing every game that's been played and is scheduled, from the 8-year-olds playing in Barnegat to the Senior Leaguers. "My wife is ready to kill me."

Davis, like so many others, is pouring hours of his time into Little League. He was the president in Barnegat for 10 years, until his election as District 18 commission forced him to step into a vice president role there. But it's clear he loves watching the players progress from the youngest levels to the oldest. 

At 4:15 p.m., it's still quiet at the Berkeley complex. What noise there is comes from kids playing on nearby streets and traffic passing the complex. Bearden continues to focus on the Senior League field, carefully laying down the chalk baselines, coaches' boxes and batter's boxes. A.J. Smith is assisting him, keeping the string that marks the chalk line taut.

It will take him another hour to finish preparing the field -- including giving the bases and home plate a quick coating of white spray paint, "so the umpire can see it better."

It's not a bad day, Bearden says.

"Last Saturday it took six hours," he says.

The intense downpours on Friday night that disrupted the tournament left the field very wet, so Bearden had to rake it repeatedly with a tractor rake that has deeper tines, just for that purpose.

"It aerates the field, and helps it dry out," he says. "You rake it, let it dry, then rake it again."

The end result is an infield that's soft as a pillow, and when a ball hits the dirt it stays down, instead of bouncing.

"That's how it should be," he says.

"He is the hardest working guy here," Rich Smith says as he watches Bearden replacing the bases.

By 5:30, the activity is increasing at the complex. Holbrook players are arriving, and some talk about how they would like to sit in the home dugout, where it's cooler.

At each of the three fields, laptops programmed with everything from the national anthem to music for between the innings to goofy special effects.

"You should see the kids react when they hear the breaking glass effect during a foul ball the first time they hear it," Everett says with a chuckle.

At one field, DJ Todd Sajewicz is testing the laptop, making sure the sounds all work properly. 

"I've got to update the music," Sajewicz says.

Some of the music for between innings goes back to the 1980s. He stopped by to help set up briefly, but a family commitment will have him away later. Saturday, however, he was hoping to be around when the complex hosted the Little League and Junior League championship games.

"I always had great coaches and great facilities when I was a kid," Sajewicz says. "So I always said I would give back."

By 6:15, players have taken the field on all three fields for warm-ups. Manchester's parents are settling in on the home sideline for the Senior League game, while in front of the concession stand, families are seated at tables eating and watching the warm-ups for the two 11-year-old games.

There aren't just the players and their families, however. Neighborhood kids arrive on foot, walking around the complex and hanging out with friends while watching the games.

"The kids all know they're welcome here, so long as they follow the rules," Patti Smith says.

And many of the kids are there so often that everyone knows who's who. The volunteers know each other's children, too.

"It makes it safe, because everyone watches out for everyone's kids," Smith said.

At 6:45, the lineups for Holbrook and Manchester are announced. Moments later the lineups are announced for the two 11-year-old fields. As the national anthem plays for the Toms River East National vs. Lacey matchup, the anthem begins for the Berkeley vs. Toms River East American game.

A glitch has delayed the playing of the national anthem for the Senior League game, and Everett leaves his post in the scorekeepers' box behind home plate of the TRE National-Lacey game to assist.

"There's always something," he says with a laugh.

With all three games under way, there is an ebb and flow from the concession stand, with pretzels, burgers and nachos and ice cream all in demand. Cheers erupt sporadically as the boys on the fields make great plays or get good hits. The Berkeley 9-year-old team practices on a nearby field, preparing for its Saturday game.

"My older son has friends on this team," spectator Jeff Black says as he watches the 11-year-olds from Berkeley trying to tie up the game after falling behind 5-0. "These kids can come back from this. They just need a couple of hits."

As the sun begins to set, the lights come on and the teams on all the fields continue to duel. The scores are close -- Toms River East National leads Lacey by a run in the late going, and Berkeley, after trailing 9-5, has tied the game. In the Senior League game, Manchester has allowed Holbrook just three runs so far. Senior League players from Berkeley trickle in to watch the teams that beat them duke it out.

The 11-year-olds finish up. Toms River East National defeats Lacey 5-2 with three runs in the top of the sixth, and Toms River East American has beaten Berkeley 11-9 on a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, and by 9:30 p.m. the lights are off and the sprinklers are going, replenishing the grass. 

While many of the cars that lined the streets around the complex are now gone, some of the folks have walked over to watch the end of the Senior League game. Holbrook has broken out with five runs in the top of the sixth, but Manchester has been refusing to give in, and trails 8-3. The seventh inning heats up as Holbrook takes a 12-3 lead. Manchester comes to bat and scores four runs -- including two home runs -- working its fans into a frenzy. A pitching change puts an end to Manchester's rally and seals the championship for Holbrook.

"They didn't give up," Manchester Little League President Rich Zingaro notes as he watches from the deck at the concession stand that overlooks the field.

As Holbrook takes its celebratory photos, the Smiths are cleaning up the kitchen, shutting down the fryer and the stove, cleaning counters and preparing to lock up for the night. Everett shuts off the lights on the Senior League field as the last families trickle out.

The complex is quiet now, with just the sound of sprinklers going on the front fields and drawers and doors shutting as equipment is put away.

The only lights on are in the parents' lounge in the Volunteer Community Center. Everett and the Smiths sit at a picnic table behind the concession stand, ready to call it a night.

Saturday's games await, and there will be much for the volunteers to do to prepare.