Toms River fans not at all agonized by defeat

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - After the last pitch of Toms River's 10-run loss Saturday at the Little League World Series, Nick Saviano, a 75-year-old fan who makes all of the team's games - "no matter the distance" - waved his homemade sign in the air as the team's deflated boosters headed for the exits.

"P.M.A.," it read.

"Positive mental attitude!" Saviano shouted. "We'll come back and get them tomorrow. There's nothing to worry about."

It was a tough day for the Toms River National Little League team - the first New Jersey team to compete in the tournament since Toms River East, another squad from the Ocean County township, defeated Japan for the world title in 1998 and then appeared again in 1999.

In the first inning of the first game here, the New Jersey champions fell eight runs behind the Great Lakes champion and, though they rallied with some big hits of their own, could not overcome the deficit, losing, 16-6.

They will have another chance of advancing in this double-elimination tournament, held at the Little League International complex in the foothills of the Susquehanna Valley, when they take on Hawaii at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The morning started off anxiously: A commercial fire along Route 15, the highway leading to Howard J. Lamade Stadium, diverted traffic onto a snaking, one-lane mountain road, causing a good number of the Toms River fans to get to their seats a little later than they wanted to.

When Joyce McCormack got to her seat at 10 a.m., an hour before the first pitch, she had already bitten off a fingernail. Her 12-year-old grandson, Joey Rose, would be taking the mound for Toms River.

"I won't have any left by the end of the game, I get so nervous," she said, squirming in her seat.

The series' opening ceremonies were Friday, but Toms River's 13 players and their coaches had been enjoying a little slice of Little League heaven since Tuesday - practicing on the manicured grass of the stadiums, palling around with their dorm mates on the Japanese and Mexican teams, and doing ESPN interviews.

Representing the Mid-Atlantic region, the Toms River players have become little celebrities. Making their way to see Japan play Mexico on Friday night, they barely got out of their dorms before being surrounded by a crowd of admiring children seeking autographs and girls wanting to pose for photographs.

"I keep getting text messages saying, 'Mom, this is so awesome,' " said Melissa Lumi, whose son Billy, 13, is the team's rightfielder. Along with most of the other team parents, she and her husband, Bill, have been holed up in a Comfort Inn the last few nights.

"They are having the times of their lives," she said, with a laugh. "They don't have any time for us."

As game time approached, the first-base grandstands filled with thousands of Toms River's supporters sporting the team's orange colors. Some had made the three-hour trip on their own, while others had hopped on the chartered buses that departed the Toms River Little League complex before dawn.

Bill Facciponte, 53, and his son, Mike, 16, of Lacey Township, N.J., had made sure to make the team's morning practice, shooting a few team photos for posterity.

"The sportsmanship, the international flavor, the joy of the kids, you can't beat it," Bill Facciponte said. "I'd rather come here for a few days than go to a big-league game."

Bill Malick, 50, a Cherry Hill Little League coach, has been taking his son, Jordan, to the event ever since Jordan started playing Little League a few years ago.

"Hopefully, one of the teams in my league can make it here next year," Jordan said.

The national anthem over, Toms River took the field, and the parents, who have been sweating every pitch and cheering their hearts out, went into game mode.

Ron Marinaccio, whose son Patrick, 12, is the starting shortstop, jumped up and yelled, "We are TR," at the top of his lungs, and the Toms River section went nuts.

Ashley Rose, a seventh grader at Intermediate North in Toms River, the school most of the players attend, and her group of girlfriends showed off the "Go Toms River" tie-dyed T-shirts they had made at a sleepover the night before, then giggled over their favorite players.

Soon the crowd quieted as Great Lakes poured it on early. But Toms River battled back, with Ron Marinaccio, and the rest of the section, going crazy when Joey Rose hit a three-run homer over the left-field fence in the bottom of the first inning.

Someone retrieved the ball and gave it to Rose's father, Joe.

"This one's going in a display case," he said, proudly.

After the final out, the Toms River parents and fans waited outside the stadium so they could cheer the team when it came out.

"Win or lose tomorrow, it doesn't matter," Renée Marinaccio said as she waited for her son. "This has all been such a special experience."

In its long run to the playoffs, Toms River has faced elimination 10 times, but it has always bounced back.

Elliot Daks, a 10-year-old fan from Toms River, wasn't deterred at all by the loss.

"They'll win tomorrow," he said.