With WCU alum Joey Wendle in the World Series, coach and teammates relish once-in-a-lifetime trip
It’s a story that Jad Prachniak will be telling his grandkids someday. AndWest Chester’s head baseball coach already has a few of others stowed away in the memory bank.
Yes, his Golden Rams captured the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2012 and again in 2017. But on Tuesday, Prachniak and three former West Chester baseball players were on hand at Globe Life Field in suburban Dallas for Game 1 of the 2020World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hemade the 1,400-mile trek to see former WCU star Joey Wendle play in the first Fall Classic of his burgeoning pro baseball career, alongwith Justin Lamborn, a Wendle teammate in ’12. Two other former Rams now living in Texas — Nick Mascioli and Nick Hinkson— were also in attendance.
And truly something special happened during the pregame workout. At one point while the foursome was wandering around the second level of the stadium taking it all in, Wendle appeared at his regular spot at third base for the Rays shagging grounders.
“That’s when Nick (Mascioli) yelled out Joey’s name,” Prachniak recalled. “He turned, looked our way, and fired a baseball right at us.”
As luck would have it — or maybe it was supreme skill — the throw didn’t just find its way to the WCU contingent, but right to Prachniak, who
grabbed it in the air.
“I was trying to make sure I didn’t leave it short and it had just enough on it,” Wendle said via phone during Thursday’s off-day while playing with his 2-year-old son Jack. “It went right to Jad and thankfully he’s got good enough hands and caught it. If he would have dropped it, I would have let him know about it, for sure.”
The way Wendle tells it, the throw was probably a bit lucky. But he’s always been a humble guy.
“I don’t know it was that impressive, but I appreciate the way they are talking it up,” he said.
That is not what Prachniak and Lamborn remember.
“It was right on themoney, and I kept it too,” Prachniak said.
“It was from about 150 feet, we were elevated, and he had to throw it over a net,” Lamborn added. “When he first let it go, I didn’t think there was any way it was going to get to us, but sure enough it did.
“It was very Major Leagueesque.”
Not long after, Wendle texted Lamborn fromthe locker room. It said, ‘How about that accuracy?’
“My response was, ‘I assumed you were throwing it to me and it was off-target,’” Lamborn laughed.
Wendle acknowledged that he knew his buddies were going to be there for the series opener. It was a rushed decision for Prachniak and Lamborn to catch Tuesday flights to Dallas, and they did it despite the fact that Wendle wasn’t a shoe-in to get the start. He bats fromthe left side, and the Dodgers pitching ace and Game 1 starter, Clayton Kershaw, is a lefty.
“Joey found out he was going to be in the lineup and he texted me on Monday night, but we had already booked our flights,” Lamborn recalled.
“They told me a couple days in advance but I didn’t know if I would be starting,” Wendle added. “But that’s what makes them all such good friends. They came eventhoughImightnot have been playing. That’s pretty cool. They each had to jump through hoops to get here, they spent a lot of money, and thatmakes it special.”
The New London native and former Avon Grove High School standout lashed out a double and scored a run in four at-bats, but Tampa Bay fell 8-3 in the opener. It was the first in-person World Series experience for both Prachniak and Lamborn, who previously worked for the WCU Foundation and now sells commercial insurance.
“Jad and I thought about going for his Major League debut (with theOakland A’s in 2016) but we didn’t pull the trigger,” Lamborn said. “For the World Series it seemed like a no-brainer.
“It was a cool and surreal experience. I am glad we pulled the trigger and did it.”
The total cost for the trip, lodging and tickets were north of $1,000 for each, but there are no regrets.
“It was well worth it,” said Prachniak, who has 273 wins in nine seasons at the helm for the Rams. “I don’t (splurge) much on stuff like this, but if there was ever a time for me to get to theWorld Series, this was the year.
“As a baseball guy, it was a thrill. But then you add the situation with Joey playing, and that made it all the more memorable.
“I haven’t been to a live professional event for a while due to the (coronavirus), so there was a natural excitement for me. But at the same time therewas still that World Series buzz in the stadium that you could just kind of sense. You could feel that this game was important. Nobody was thinking this was just another Major League game, that’s for sure.”
Due to the pandemic, there were only about 11,000 seats available to the public. Prachniak and the others didn’t have great seats — they actually squeezed into the last row of section 304 down the leftfield line.
“But that didn’tmake the experience any less impressive,” Prachniak said.
In Game 2 onWednesday, Wendle knocked in three runs to lead Tampa Bay to a 6-4 victory. He had a fourth inning, two-run double and later registered a sacrifice fly. Lamborn had to fly back before Game Two, but Prachniak watched it from Texas Live, an entertainment complex adjacent to the new 1.2 billion home to the Texas Rangers.
“My wallet couldn’t handle going to both games,” he said.
Wendle is a 2009 graduate of Avon Grove, and went on to become a four-year starting second baseman at West Chester. He helped guideWCU to the 2012 national title during his senior season.
“I have great friends and memories at Avon Grove,” he said. “We had a lot of good teams there and guys I am still close with.
“And even before we won the national championship at West Chester, it was a special group of guys and still a lot of my best friends.
“I get asked all the time, but I wouldn’t change where I went to school for anything in the world. Going toWest Chesterwas one of the best experiences of my whole life.”