Toms River's Brad Frank, right, contemplates a pin exchange with Corey Canning of Dover South, N.H., Friday in Williamsport, Pa
By ED GUZMAN.
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Mike Gaynor, the manager of Toms River East, was standing outside Howard J. Lamade Stadium on Friday afternoon with a look of morning-after exhaustion from the late-night delirium of winning the U.S. championship Thursday night. But the time for celebration was over, as his team was one day away from taking on Kashima, Japan, in the Little League World Series championship game.
"The joke all month long has been that my wins are up, but my sales are down," said Gaynor, who owns a chain of athletic footwear stores called Feet First. "It's a busy time of year and I'm usually the one doing most of the buying, but I haven't been there all month long."
As for the 12-year-olds from Toms River East, they could not be bothered with the prospect of being on the biggest Little League stage Saturday afternoon.
After facing the news media early Friday, the bleary-eyed players spent the rest of the day taking in the Little League Jamboree, a daylong carnival that included a hitting contest and an all-star game made up of the six other teams that played here. Coming off the high of Thursday night's 5-2 victory over Greenville, N.C., the Toms River players just wanted to have a last bit of fun during this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"We're just the baseball players," outfielder Chris Cardone said jokingly as he and third baseman Gabe Gardner loitered around the press box after the hitting contest, toying with camera equipment and acting as if they did not have a care in the world.
If Saturday afternoon's nationally televised game is anything like the first four victories Toms River has picked up here in Williamsport, Toms River will rely on its pitching to keep the game close and then wait for timely hits. Those hits have been coming from the likes of Gardner, first baseman Scott Fisher, who pitched a complete game in Thursday night's victory, and shortstop Todd Frazier, who has quickly become a fan favorite here with his outgoing personality and clutch hitting. His two-run home run in the sixth and final inning that broke open Thursday night's game against Greenville was only the latest chapter in Frazier's terrific performance. Frazier seems to demand the spotlight because he knows he will come through.
Casey Gaynor, the manager's son, will start Saturday's game for Toms River. He pitched the first five innings of Sunday's 11-inning marathon against Jenison, Mich., allowing eight runs, before coming back Tuesday with a complete-game 5-3 victory over Greenville in the preliminary round.
He will face a Kashima lineup that has been on and off against the international competition. In becoming the first Japanese team to make the championship game since 1976, it finished preliminary round play with a 2-1 record. Kashima struggled mightily against Langley, Canada, in Thursday's international championship game before pulling out a 3-2 eight-inning victory. Kashima will make history when center fielder Sayaka Tsushima becomes the first girl to play in a championship game.
"There has been some difficulty showing Japan how well we're playing because of the time difference," Kashima Manager Atsushi Okawa said. "But the town of Kashima is still very excited and very much into it."
The pool play format was instituted in 1992 in order to ensure that all eight teams who participate in the Little League World Series get at least three games. Breaking the pools into international and U.S. groups was done to avoid all-international finals, as was the case in 1985 when South Korea beat Mexico, 7-1.
Regardless of Saturday's result, Toms River East will leave Williamsport Sunday morning with a police escort, arriving in Toms River in the early afternoon. The team has also been scheduled to appear on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" on Wednesday, and later will have lunch at the All-Star Cafe in New York City's Times Square. The whirlwind of activity will be capped with a parade in Toms River a week from Sunday.
"It's a bit much, overwhelming," Mike Gaynor said. "But hey, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
He paused for a second, remembering he had coached the 1995 Toms River team to Williamsport, and said, smiling, "Or in my case, twice-in-a-lifetime."