MORRIS – During Thursday’s baseball game against Sterling, Morris wore hats with the letters RB and the number 31 on the front and the incsciption “No One Fights Alone” emblazoned across the back.

That phrase was certainly in evidence all day as a large crowd gathered in support of former Morris player Ryan Bernickus, who has been fighting osteosarcoma, a cancer that starts in the bones.

The team also wore gray T-shirts with Bernickus’ nickname, “Bernie,” across the shoulders and his former number, 31, on the back, during infield practice before the game.

Bernickus and his family showed up just before the Redskins took infield and he made his way through the crowd of well-wishers on a cane fashioned out of a hockey stick before greeting the team in the duguot.

When Morris completed its pregame drills, the Morris softball team and its opponent for the day, Sycamore, came from the neighboring field. The Morris team was also wearing its “Bernie” T-shirts, and stood along the grass between the infield and left fied. The Morris baseball team was on the third-base line, and the Sterling baseball and Sycamore softball teams were on the first-base line.

Bernickus then made his way to the middle of the field – without his cane – and threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Morris catcher Tyler Bordner. He was then embraced by Morris coach Todd Kein as the crowd gave him a long standing ovation.

Among the crowd were Morris mayor Dick Kopczick, Morris Community High School principal Kelly Hussey, MCHS assistant principal Jeff Johnson, former Cubs pitcher and Morris baseball standout Billy Petrick, and many of Bernickus’ former teammates.

Also, when the Sterling baseball coaches, Nick Pepper and Adam Roe, heard about what was going on that day and why, they voluntarily donated immediately.

“It was awesome to see everyone here,” Bernickus said after the Redskins came away with a 4-1 victory on Bernie Day. “There were lots of people I haven’t seen for a long time, so it was nice to see them. It was great. Drew Walker was a teammate of mine, and his little brother, Matt, was the starting pitcher today, so that was pretty cool.”

Bernickus, who graduated from MCHS in 2011, said he completed his last round of chemotherapy about a month ago, and will not have to return to a hospital until July for a three-month checkup. After that, he will have another couple of three-month checkups, then they will change to six months and then yearly.

In between checkups, he will continue his fight, thanks to a perspective and attitude that goes well beyond his years.

He already has completed three years of college at Univeristy of Iowa and, after having taken this year off due to his treatment, plans on attending University of Illinois-Chicago at Rockford to complete his pharmacy degree. He says this as a matter of fact, not as something he hopes to do.

“It’s kind of the only way for me to look at it,” he said. “You don’t plan for something like this, but you adjust to it and keep going. I am working to be more independent, but I’m not quite there yet. I have to keep going to physical therapy and get to the point where I can live on my own.”

One constant in his life is his parents, Rick and Marcy. Like Ryan, they don’t seek attention, but they have provided strength for him throughout his recovery.

“My parents,” Bernickus said, taking time to collect himself before continuing. “During the eight months that I was in the hospital, they never left me alone. I don’t mean that like they were bothering me. I mean that they never left me by myself. They were always there for me.

“The first thing my dad said when we found out was, ‘We will get through this. No matter what it takes, that’s what we will do to get this done.’ “

Not only were there T-shirts and hats being sold, but 11 businesses in Morris pledged to donate $10 per run that Morris scored that day. That meant that an extra $440 went to the fund to help the Bernickus family with their expenses. The local businesses that donated were Chicago Pizza, Brandt’s Body Shop, Honest Abe’s Tap & Grill, Corleone’s, Greenhorn Saloon & Eatery, Montage Wine Bar, Feeney Package Liquor, McGrath Office Equipment Clayton’s Tap, Ebbey’s Bar & Grill and Sam’s Pizza. Special thanks also went out to Dave Wiers of LogoWorks for the hats and Erik Enervold of Simian Brothers for the T-shrts.

As far as the fundrasing, such as the selling of the T-shirts and hats at games and during school, most of the work came from a surprising source.

“The guys on the team did most of this,” Kein said. “When they found out about Ryan, they wanted to do something. It just seemed natural to pick a date on our schedule and just make a day all about him. The kids on the team, especially the captains, took control and got this thing going. Tyler Bordner, especially, was kind of the ringleader for that and sparked everyone to want to pitch in.

“It was very gratifying to see them follow through on this and it shows what kind of character they have and that they realize there’s more important things than just baseball. When you’re 17 or 18 years old, it’s sometimes hard to see the bigger picture.

“As a program, we like to feel that we do things right. This gave us a chance to see the human side of things and it’s kind of a reality check.”

It was definitely a day that Ryan Bernickus will always remember.

“It was fun to walk out to the mound again,” he said. “It’s been four years since I have been on this field. To walk out to that mound again and have everyone there, it was awesome.”

“Ryan had a lot of great moments on this field,” Rick Bernickus said. “This one was by far the greatest. The thing about all this is, I have learned a lot of things from my son.”