As a member of the coaching staff, Jake Furrule has important duties for the Barnegat High School baseball team. He’ll bring the umpires their pay vouchers before the first pitch, remind players of game times and even run with the outfielders and pitchers to keep them honest.

“He works just as hard as any other guy on the team,” senior third baseman Jared Kacso said.

Oh, and Furrule also has autism. Clearly, the 19-year-old has limitations, but the rest of the Bengals don’t view him as limited. He’s just Jake, one of the guys, always smiling in the dugout. He’s their equal whose strengths are what counts.

And that’s the message of the Autism Awareness Baseball Challenge. The 10th annual event has two components. One is actual competition featuring 20 games over a three-day period with five Shore Conference teams participating. In all, 40 squads from 13 counties, extending from Garden State Parkway Exit 40 (Holy Spirt in Absecon) up to Exit 171 (St. Joseph in Montvale) are playing at North Brunswick’s Community Park in Middlesex County from April 22-24.

READ: Autism Awareness Baseball Challenge more than just a game

The second component is education. Teams collect signatures for a donation, typically a dollar, on different colored paper puzzle pieces. The puzzle is a universal symbol of autism awareness and reflects the diversity and complexity of the disorder, according to the Autism Society. The donations go to the nonprofit Teamwork Unlimited Foundation, which works to raise awareness about autism and help those in need.

A reception kicked off the event on April 3rd at the Elks Lodge in Edison with coaches and players, who traded the puzzle pieces. The cutouts will then be displayed at the schools. A moving video presentation gave information about autism with comments from past players. Guest speakers included Rutgers baseball coach Joe Litterio and Colorado Rockies scout Mike Garlatti.

Garlatti, who has a child with autism, started the event with eight teams. The former Rutgers assistant and Highland Park star called on his friends from the Shore Conference to help spread the word. At the reception were Red Bank Catholic coach Buddy Hausmann and two of his players, catcher Doug Facendo and shortstop Evan Madigan. The other Shore teams competing are CBA, Jackson Memorial and Lakewood.

“They get a lot out of it because they don’t realize how fortunate they are to play this game,” Hausmann said. “Some days they could go 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and think the world is going to end. But there are kids with different issues, and autism being one, they would kill for that opportunity to go 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. Those kids don’t get that chance. … So I think it’s a good message. I know my guys always walk out of here like, ‘Wow.’ And then they go back and they talk to the players about what they got out of here.”

Autism hits home at Barnegat with the everyday presence of Furrule. Chris Furrule, the father of Jake, said that coach Dan McCoy suggested his son come to practices as a freshman. He soon had the title of manager, and helped keep pitch counts. At lunch, he’d sit with the players in the cafeteria. When he graduated two years ago, Jake remained with the team as a volunteer assistant. Former players keep in touch with him through Facebook, and they’ll go to The Chicken or the Egg in Beach Haven for lunch when they’re home from college.

And the connection all started with baseball.

“Dan McCoy, as a coach, it’s almost like what my wife and I say all the time—we owe him our lives because he’s really taken my son under his wing and made him something more than just going through special ed and being different,” Chris Furrule said. “… (Jake) somewhat understands the situation, which makes it pretty good but he’s 19-years-old and he’ll still ask me, ‘Why me, how did I end up this way?’ But at the same time he looks at himself as, you know, there’s kids who are a lot worse. And what he’s really grown up to learn is, if it wasn’t for Barnegat baseball team he wouldn’t be where he is today. That’s like his life. He’s excited about the team. He’s excited about being a part of it. He has a role.”

That role includes brightening everyone’s day. Whether being the first person to high-five a runner who just crossed home plate, or shaking hands with clients in his father’s insurance investment company. Jake now works for his dad with duties such as making copies and handling mail. Of course, he has to leave early to get to the diamond on time.

“He just makes practice a little more easier to get through because we have nothing to complain about,” senior outfielder Collin O’Connor said, “while he’s going through his own challenges at home every day.”

Chris Furrule is just pleased that perceptions have changed and there are events like the baseball challenge.

“Before I had a special needs son, I didn’t know much about it,” Chris said. “Growing up, it wasn’t that you were mean or bad or anything, it was almost like it was two different worlds. And now, to see what these kids do today and how they’re embracing them and having a couple different counties mix up and do what they’re doing is—it’s breathtaking. … I hope everybody gets the same type of treatment. It should be like this all over.”

AUTISM AWARENESS BASEBALL CHALLENGE

at North Brunswick’s Community Park

Friday, April 22

Highland Park vs. Dunellen, 3:45

Piscataway Tech vs. Lakewood, 3:45

Colonia vs. Bernards, 7

St. Joseph Regional vs. Jackson Memorial, 7

Saturday, April 23

North Brunswick vs. Hudson Catholic, 10

Spotswood vs. Robbinsville, 10

St Joseph (Metuchen) vs. Steinert, 1

Metuchen vs. Weehawken, 1

South River vs. Rahway, 4

Governor Livingston vs. J.P. Stevens, 4

Old Bridge vs. Elizabeth, 7

South Plainfield vs. Millburn, 7

Sunday, April 24

Somerville vs. East Brunswick, 10

Westfield vs. Piscataway, 10

Middlesex vs. South Hunterdon, 1

Edison vs. North Hunterdon, 1

Barnegat vs. Hillsborough, 4

Christian Brothers Academy vs. Holy Spirit, 4

St. Peters Prep vs. Pope John, 7

Red Bank Catholic vs. Sayreville, 7

Staff writer Andy Mendlowitz: amendlowit@gannett.com