For Mansfield baseball senior captain James Warren, the memory might be one of his fondest with the program.
The Hornets made a special trip to Washington, D.C., during April vacation last year for a road game against Maryland’s nationally-ranked The John Carroll School. There, players and coaches toured the White House. They visited museums. They attended a Washington Nationals game together, and a 5-2 loss against the powerhouse was a “good loss” on a beautiful Alumni Field.
Quite a few memories to have. But the best part?
“The bus ride,” Warren said. “Me and JB had a blast the whole ride. Sat next to each other on the bus, roomed together. For him, seeing him smile like that, that was awesome because I know what he went through. Not a lot of kids do.”
JB, who is fellow senior Jacob Bianchi, is Warren’s best friend since preschool and neighbor since second grade. “Glue guy” is the first description Warren and head coach Chris Hall use when asked about Bianchi’s role – a “yes guy” who fills multiple positions and finds a way to gel the group in both good times and bad.
Just five games into this season, for example, Warren recalls a “moon shot to left-center” Bianchi hit on the final out of a rough 12-2 loss to North Attleboro. The outfielder laid out for “the best catch of his life” to rob him of a hit, but Bianchi’s quip when he got back to the dugout had the Hornets laughing.
It alleviated the tension.
“That’s what the glue guy is,” Warren said. “We were all down on ourselves. It was a bad situation that Jacob made better just by being himself.”
This is the version of JB that Bianchi cherishes. Around this time two years ago, though, “just being himself” proved a lot more difficult.
Issues with mental health can be crippling. There are high moments, and really low ones. It was around the middle of May 2024 that the then-sophomore reached a low enough point that he stopped going to school and left the program.
At his lowest, he barely got out of bed for days.
“(I had a) bunch of mental health problems where I just really didn’t feel like myself. I was just negative on myself,” Bianchi said. “ I just had some thoughts that weren’t really pleasant. Just felt like I had to have better thoughts. Stepping away was kind of my best bet.”
In the past, Warren and Bianchi took any opportunity to go to Bianchi’s family trailer at Normandy Farms Campground – cornhole tournaments, softball tournaments, volleyball tournaments – and would spend a night or two nights just hanging out. Warren knew something was up when Bianchi started leaving early or would offer alternatives.
It was a random day in May when Bianchi knew he needed change.
“I’ve got to get the help I want and need,” Bianchi recalled. “I couldn’t see myself declining more and more. I just had to get myself back into the swing of things.”
For two months, Bianchi did a day program at McLean Hospital for psychiatric treatment. He participated Monday through Friday, in which he shared stories and experiences with kids his age.
“It wasn’t really them helping us out, it was us helping (each) other out,” Bianchi said. “That also helped me become the person I am today on the team, so I can help my teammates.”
Listening to other accounts and how others got through struggles was a powerful tool for Bianchi, like the well-documented struggles Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran experiences with mental health.
“It just made me think even the professional athletes are going through the same problems I was going through,” Bianchi said. “If they’re going through it, then it’s OK to go through it. And if they can bounce back from it, I can do so as well.”
Mansfield’s Jacob Bianchi strokes his single in the seventh inning as Mansfield take on Taunton in baseball. (staff photo by Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
When asked about general advice he’d give to someone else dealing with mental health struggles, Bianchi emphasized how even though it might not feel like it, there are people around that do care and are supportive allies. Especially since one of the worst parts of his journey was worrying what others thought – he didn’t want anyone to know about his struggles.
For Bianchi, that reliable support came from family, Hall and his teammates – Warren especially.
“Your closest friends are there to support you, whatever battle you face,” Bianchi said.
Also one of his teachers at the school, Hall saw the red flag raise when the days Bianchi missed school consistently piled up in 2024. Hall reached out to Bianchi’s parents, who were receptive to getting Bianchi the support he needed not only mentally, but academically.
Bianchi expressed gratitude for Hall, who tutored him in the summer ahead of Bianchi’s junior year to get his grades up from missing the last term of school as a sophomore.
“It’s my job to be there for my players … to me it was a no-brainer,” Hall said. “(But) Jacob was the one that came out, fought through this, worked hard at it, turned a negative situation into a massive positive and is someone that I view as an incredible resource for a lot of players. I look up to Jacob. … I was just so proud to see him with a smile and get back into the groove of things, and be the JB that we all knew him to be.”
Hall called Bianchi “a new man” when he first came back to school in September 2025. Hall’s also coach of the golf team, which Bianchi tried out for and made.
Warren made any excuse to try to get Bianchi out of the house during his recovery. Unless Bianchi had work – at Foxboro Country Club – Warren wouldn’t take no for an answer. And come spring their junior season, Bianchi asked if he should try out for baseball again.
“One hundred percent, you’re playing,” Warren told him.
Bianchi made the baseball team, too. He’s also set to attend Curry College next year after hitting that rhythm in the classroom, and using his experience as the topic in his college essay.
Now seniors, both Warren and Bianchi are grateful to play together in their last year of high school. It’s had ups-and-downs with a 7-7 record, but Mansfield plays a daunting schedule that it figures to gear the Hornets for a deep postseason run. A 9-5 win over Div. 1 power Franklin on Tuesday shows their potential.
Bianchi’s play and leadership is vital, and he loves his role.
“To think where I was back then and where I am now, it just means the world to me,” he said. “I just want to help everyone else out. To be the glue guy, I’m honestly honored for that role because I know I can bring people together and that’s what I want.”