Baseball: Brooklawn to be honored at World Series

By Phil Anastasia

The Brooklawn American Legion team will be at the center of the baseball universe on Thursday night.

The Brookers will be honored on the field at Fenway Park before Game 2 of the World Series for winning the American Legion World Series in August.

"It's really awesome," said Mike Shawaryn, a star pitcher for Brooklawn who now is a freshman at the University of Maryland. "We're really excited to be able to go on the field and be part of the festivities at the World Series."

Brooklawn's travel party will leave American Legion Post 52 in Brooklawn early on Wednesday morning, according to manager Dennis Barth. Their bus is likely to arrive in Boston around 2 or 3 p.m., Barth said.

The group will attend both Game 1 Wednesday night and Game 2 of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.

They will take the field in one of baseball's most famous ballparks before Game 2.

Brooklawn won the third World Series title in the program's history with a 10-0 win over Petaluma, Calif., in Shelby, N.C., on Aug. 20.

Brooklawn also won titles in 1991 and 2001 and members of those teams were honored at the World Series in those years as well.

Shawaryn, a 2013 Gloucester Catholic graduate, pitched a four-hitter in the title game for Brooklawn (47-8).

Nick Cieri, a 2013 Rancocas Valley graduate, delivered three hits in the championship game and knocked in the run that shortened the game to seven innings.

"It's not very often you get a chance to go watch World Series baseball in an awesome city like Boston," said Cieri, who also is a freshman at Maryland.

Shawaryn said many of the Brooklawn players have not seen each other since the days after the championship since they were scattering to different schools.

"For me and I think the team it's just going to be great to be around the team again," Shawaryn said. "I haven't seen most of them since the championship so it will be cool to experience it with those guys."

-- Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com

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