Ed Bengermino knows a thing or two about winning. The former veteran Andrew Warde High School baseball coach guided his Crimson Eagles to the 1981 state championship in dramatic fashion with a 13-inning victory over Rockville at Quigley Stadium in West Haven.One year later, though, his defending champions lost a heartbreaker in the title game to finish one game removed from back-to-back state championships. Bengermino still recalls gathering his coaches and players together after that painful loss to remind them of all they accomplished that season.
So, it goes without saying that he knows exactly what Coach Ed Szymansky (AWHS Class of 1976) and his Shelton National Little League team were going through after suffering a devastating extra inning defeat at the hands of Tampa in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Monday night. As a result, Shelton National was eliminated from the Little League World Series after finishing with a 1-2 record in pool play.
Bengermino, who saw the dramatic ending of the game on ESPN2, has a good idea how Szymansky approached his players after the game."The first thing you do is you get them (the players) away from everybody and get them all together," he told me by telephone just after Shelton's loss. "Naturally, you've got your fans who are disappointed. The kids need to be with each other whether victorious or in defeat."
Szymansky's Shelton National little leaguers had a 2-1 lead in the last inning and were two outs away from advancing to the quarterfinals when Kevin Merrill of Citrus Park, Tampa, hit a home run to tie the game in front of a crowd of 11,600 at historic Lamade Stadium. Tampa scored six runs in the seventh inning to win the game.
Bengermino said that the players need to be reminded of all the positives they can take from the season. "(Tell them) you have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to be disappointed about," he said. "You've been winners. The sun's going to come up tomorrow, and for the rest of your lives you are going to remember what you accomplished.
"They need to be with their coaches and teammates first. You have to talk about how great it is to be where you are. There are many other teams that would have liked to have been where you are. The other team deserved to win the game. You reflect on what it took to get there. I'm pretty sure that's what he (Syzmansky) did."
Bengermino still considers that 1982 team, which featured many returnees from the previous year's state championship squad, the best one he ever coached. That Crimson Eagle squad advanced to the state championship game, but fell to North Haven at Penders Field in Stratford. "I told them, 'You have blue blood in you. You've been to the big games, won the big games, and you have a chance to do it again.' They couldn't wait to experience it again. They had that blue blood in them. That was the championship blood."
Despite the loss in the state title game, Bengermino still has vivid memories of that season. "I told them once a week that this is the best team I've ever coached. I remember telling them what a great group of guys they were." He's sure Szymansky will carry the memories of this once-in-a-lifetime experience with him the rest of his life, too.
"That's what it's all about," Bengermino emphasized. "My whole career really is about memories. When I walk around this town, I always bump into somebody who played for me. You never lose those memories. It's always special when you work with kids. Those memories will last a lifetime."
The memories. That's what Ed Bengermino and his former players at Andrew Warde High School will always enjoy. And that's what Ed Szymansky and his Shelton National Little League team will have the rest of their lives, too. Ed, we're proud of you and your team. Congratulations from the Andrew Warde High School Class of 1976.
Please sign the AWHS Guest Book.
Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.
Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film".
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