HACKENSACK – Junior Chris Navarro said he felt humbled when he stepped on the mound Monday to make the first start in the history of the Bergen Charter varsity baseball program.
Senior pitcher Henry Espinel looks around at his teammates, some of whom have never played organized baseball before, and feels honored that he’s helping to lay a foundation for future success.
Cold and wet weather has kept the players inside their cramped, little Maple Street gym for most of the first six weeks of the Yellow Jackets’ existence. They’re still waiting for their first lead, let alone their first victory.
But three games into their inaugural season, it seems like these players already have learned at least one huge lesson: No one has to tell Bergen Charter (0-3) what it means to be a team.
“We’re all in it together,” said junior infielder/pitcher Israel Arroyo of Garfield. “We knew what we were signing up for when we joined a first-year program. It’s going to be a long road, but we’ll take it together.”
That road is going to be bumpy, but it certainly won’t be dull. Every game is shaping up to be a baseball lesson for these players, and so far, they are anxious to soak it all in.
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/boys-baseball/fielding-a-dream-1.1307012
