A couple of months later, the good vibe that the Rowan County American Legion baseball team created for the area is still radiating.
The team's annual banquet was held Monday night and everyone involved from the players themselves to the people who followed the team religiously were there to celebrate a historic season.
I personally followed this team to Greenville, Sumter and Fargo and it was an experience that I will not soon forget. Seeing everyone back together again brought back many memories from this past summer. Bob Lowman, who served as team manager, recounted many memorable moments from the season which started all the way back on May 19 in a game with Randolph County.
Lowman recalled Alex Litaker's one inning pitched against Las Vegas, Nev. that he called one of the most clutch pitching performance's he's ever seen a Rowan pitcher pitch. Litaker of course got out of a bases loaded, no out jam with Rowan's season seeming dwindling away. Litaker got the three outs he needed and the rest they say is history.
Lowman also recounted Jon Crucitti's miraculous catch against Alabama in the regional title game. He said it might rank third on the all-time best catches list for Rowan Legion players. Lowman also mentioned the fact that every player on this year's team made a big contribution to the success of the team and that these guys just wanted to keep on playing.
Between the reminicising, eating, hugging, picture-taking and congratulating, Rowan players receieved some jewelry that they had all been waiting on for a couple months. The rings will be a valuable memento later on in life as they recall that special summer of 2009.
Some of the same players will return next summer to create more lasting memories. So who knows, maybe next year at this time we'll be talking about a World Series trip to Spokane, Wash.
Hey, anything can happen.
