OLD BRIDGE LITTLE LEAGUE OPENS SEASON WITH SPECIAL FIELD DEDICATION

Continued from page 1 co-ed baseball for players from 4-16 — the biggest cheers came for first pitches by Vincent Perschilli (Marines), Barbara Perschilli (Army), Ed Howley (Navy), Victor Rodriguez (Air Force) and Anthony Drago (Coast Guard).

“There is something so special about baseball, the memories, the friendships, the connections between parents and kids,” said league president Brian Howley. “Being out here today, seeing league members like Vinnie, who just turned 90 and has been supporting the league for some six decades, standing next to the parents of a 4-year-old tee baller playing for the first time, it just reminds you how baseball spans the generations and really helps stitch a community together.”

The newly dedicated field was showing off its offseason facelift, thanks to a year-long fundraising effort to replace and upgrade fencing. This year, the league is focused on raising funds for a site-wide fence upgrade.

U.S. Armed Forces Field joins OBLL’s First Responders Field, which honors the police, fire and EMTs who serve the community. As has become an OBLL Opening Day tradition, teams sponsored by the PBA #127 and South Old Bridge Fire Department squared off in a Pony division opener.

Old Bridge Little League has been a township institution since its founding in 1955, and now features facilities at both ends of town. The Route 516 complex boasts four fields. In Laurence Harbor, another five fields underwent offseason improvements, including refurbished dugouts.

U.S. Armed Forces field was showing off an offseason facelift, thanks to a year-long fundraising effort by the league’s families to replace and upgrade fencing. This year, the focus is a sitewide fence replacement. To contribute, contact OBLLPresident55@gmail.com.