Monday, May 12, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

The Browns, Mallory and Adam, have helped the Ramapo softball and baseball teams to a combined record of 31-11 this season.

When the final bell rings to end the school day at Ramapo High School during the spring sports season, it is like the start of the Kentucky Derby for the Brown family…They are off! Mallory Brown is the starting second baseman for the two-time defending Bergen County champion Ramapo softball team and her older brother Adam is a starter for the Green Raiders’ baseball team, 14-6 heading into this week, which leaves their parents with some decisions to make on a day to day basis and with some driving to do.

“It’s hard on my parents. They always have to decide which game to go to, my game or Adam’s game,” said Mallory. “Both teams are doing well and I know they would like to see both of us play every game, so they are all over the place.”

Between his job as an attorney, crisscrossing the county on game days, working the snack bar as a booster club volunteer and keeping track of the in-house home run derby, Jeff Brown, the father of Mallory and Adam, has his hands full. With 4:00 starts during the spring season it is not easy to follow one team through a 20-plus game schedule, with two varsity starters in the family playing different sports it is twice as hard, but Jeff is not complaining.

“I see it as I am very lucky. Both kids have been doing well, both teams are doing fantastic and that makes it even more special,” said Jeff. “The big issue in the house is which game I am going to, but my wife [Audrey] declared that she is going to all of the home games so she doesn’t have to drive all over the county. That means I have to get out of work as soon as I can and hit the road, but it is all worth it.”

Adam Brown leads the in-house Home Run Derby, 5-3.

And there is no sibling rivalry unless it is a friendly one. Watch a Ramapo softball game when the baseball team is not playing and Adam, a senior, is there rooting on his younger sister. Head to a baseball game when the softball team is off and Mallory, a junior, is there in support. They root for each other even if they are now more conscience of each other’s stats.

“We grew up watching each other play. I was always at her games and she has always been at mine and it’s grown into a little bit of a rivalry now as we’ve gotten older,” said Adam, a part of the Ramapo baseball team that has won 14 of its last 17 games and has already qualified for the Bergen County Tournament. “If she comes home and says that she hit one out, then I feel like I have to go out there and match her.”

Both players have had outstanding seasons so far and last week, in a rare occurrence, the parents got to watch both the softball game and the baseball game against Old Tappan start at the same time and be played on adjacent fields at Ramapo.

“Within minutes of each other Mallory hit a home run and Adam had a big two-run single and I was able to see them both. That was a lucky break,” said Jeff. “It’s fun to see both of my children do well and be a part of successful teams. We have seen all of these kids grow up together and it is fun as a parent and a fan.”

Mallory Brown had a hit and scored a run as Ramapo knocked Paramus out of the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals.

Adam leads the in-house home run count with five career dingers while Mallory has three. Adam has three this year, Mallory has one. Mallory hit two home runs last season including her first high school homer last season against Pascack Hills in the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals. She was a starter in the outfield for the Green Raiders in their run to a second straight county title and is now starting at second base.

So while Ramapo’s softball team looks to become the first ever to win three straight Bergen County championships, Mallory Brown is just as interested in knowing how the Green Raiders’ baseball team is doing on a game-in, game-out basis.

“When we get back from our games early I try to get down [to the field] to see how Adam and the baseball team are doing or I am on the phone with my mother asking the score,” said Mallory. “It seems like our family is always watching a game somewhere. It’s always been that way and I know my Dad loves it.”

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