South Shore abuzz over one of their own playing at Fenway. (Even if he is in pinstripes.)

He's heading for home.

Well, close to home, at least.

Ben Rice wiled away many an afternoon and evening at Fenway Park as a kid growing up in Cohasset. On Friday, he'll reacquaint himself with the old place as a member of the New York Yankees -- the team he idolized as a youngster.

Consider this the latest item to be checked off on his summer to-do list.

Already the 25-year-old Dartmouth College product made his MLB debut (June 18 vs. the Orioles), hit his first big-league home run (July 4 vs. the Reds) and became the first Yankees rookie ever with a three-homer game (July 6 vs. the Red Sox).

All of those milestones came at Yankee Stadium.

Let's see what No. 93 in your program can cook up now in his own backyard.

"That's going to be exciting, for sure," Rice's dad Dan said of the homecoming. "We went to many, many games (at Fenway when Ben was a kid). We've always loved baseball. I grew up going to games and my wife did, too. We always took the kids. I couldn't even count how many games we went to at Fenway Park."

Dan Rice also can't even start to estimate the number of family members (beyond himself, Ben's mom Sophie and Ben's sister Sarah) and assorted friends who will be in the ballpark this weekend to watch Ben, who starred at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham. "I think there's going to be a lot of people at that game who are really happy that they're going to see a kid that they know get to play on that field," Dan said, "because that's really rare around here. You don't see that very often."

No kidding.

"Can you believe it?" said Chris Lund, who coached Rice in Little League for three years (ages 10-12). "For everybody in this little town (it's a big thrill). ... There was no way in my wildest imagination that we'd be at where we are now. Every day I float."

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Ben Rice's local debut as a big leaguer is a big deal, although he was just back in town last week during the All-Star break. He used his down time to make the rounds in Cohasset and even hung out with some of the town's Little Leaguers at Barnes Field.

In his honor, the Cohasset Little League All-Stars have worn special Ben Rice-themed jerseys this summer. They all had No. 4 on the back (he wore that number while playing at Double-A Somerset, which is where he was this spring when the jerseys were ordered) and a "BR4" logo on the front. The jerseys all features pinstripes in a nod to the Yankees' iconic ones.

"It's been an epic summer of Ben Rice for the kids," said Little League coach Darin Souza.

It's been a pretty good summer for Ben Rice overall, even though a recent slump has dragged his batting average down to .196 (with 6 homers and 19 RBIs). Called up in June after regular first baseman Anthony Rizzo fractured his wrist (ironically in a collision at first base during the Yankees' previous visit to Fenway), Rice immediately was inserted into the starting lineup and got off to a blazing start, hitting .294 over his first 17 games.

His obvious highlight was that 17th game in which he went deep three times against the Sox in a 14-4 win. He became the first Yankees rookie ever to do that in a game, the youngest Yankee with a three-HR day since Bobby Murcer (age 24 in 1970) and the first Yankees rookie with 7 RBIs in a game since Lou Gehrig in 1925.

"That was really fun," Dan Rice said. "Obviously, I'm no different than any other parent; you're just really happy when something goes well for your kid in a competitive sporting event. It was awesome. I was amazed that he did it, but he's a guy who's played a lot of baseball and has been a good player. It wasn't like a miracle. If he gets his pitch there's a good chance he's going to hit it hard."

Lund remembers Rice hitting plenty of balls hard in Little League. He estimates that Ben, whose dad was an assistant coach on the team, slugged 40 homers over three seasons with the Cardinals -- a total that Lund admits is "absurd."

Lund drafted Rice in Little League but doesn't pat himself on the back for unearthing a gem. "It's not that I could recognize skill," he said with a laugh. "(Ben's older) brother Sam was on the team, so you automatically have to take the (other) brother."

Lund remembers Ben Rice as a "tag-along" catcher who was hardly a "prodigy" but had a fierce work ethic even at that young age. "Whatever you asked him to do, he would do it – from picking up balls to cleaning up the dugout," Lund said. "He was just a sponge. He was delightful little kid who could not get enough of baseball."

Ben Rice has gotten plenty of baseball this summer, although he didn't start either of the Yankees' last two games as they got swept by the Mets in the Bronx in the latest Subway Series. Rice has managed just 4 hits in 46 at-bats since his three-homer game, although he did put a charge into one as a pinch hitter in Tuesday's loss, only to see Mets center fielder Harrison Bader flag down his two-out drive near the wall in left-center.

"That's part of being a baseball player," Dan Rice said of the slump. "Nobody's in the big leagues without having dealt with that. It's a tough game. But that's why it's a great game."

No matter what the recent stats say, Ben Rice can expect a warm greeting from his Cohasset cheering section this weekend.

"He's the most grounded, fun-loving guy," Lund said. "It's the greatest story for small-town Cohasset. It's beyond my wildest dream. I'm so thrilled at his accomplishments."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: South Shore abuzz over one of their own playing at Fenway. (Even if he is in pinstripes.)