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Kenny Fey

Walhalla American Legion Post 124’s Matt Crowe swings during his team’s game against Greenwood on Tuesday in Walhalla. The former Seneca High School standout went 5-for-6 at the plate just a day after learning that his father, Wayne, had passed away after suffering a heart attack at his home on Saturday.

WALHALLA — At a time when no one could have blamed him for taking a step back from the game, Matt Crowe made the decision he knew his father would have wanted.

Going against convention, a grief-stricken Crowe decided to play ball on Tuesday, and did it with an inspiring passion that won’t soon be forgotten by anyone close to the Walhalla American Legion Post 124 baseball team.

It was on Monday that Crowe’s father, Dennis Wayne Crowe, was found dead at the age of 52 in his bedroom after suffering a heart attack some time after 4 p.m. on Saturday.

With three clogged arteries, including two that were more than 80 percent blocked, Wayne spent much of Saturday doing yard work before taking a shower and falling asleep in bed, where he suffered the heart attack in his sleep.

Naturally on the day of his father’s death, Crowe decided to sit out his team’s game at Easley. But after that, it was back to work for Crowe, who knew his father wouldn’t want him to miss any extra time on his account.

“I decided right off the bat,” Crowe said. “I was going to stay with the family the first night, and I knew I was playing (Tuesday), because I know he wouldn’t want me to miss any games because of that.”

For anyone who knows Crowe, it didn’t come as any shock he decided to put on his uniform and get back on the diamond on Tuesday.

But that didn’t make his return any less moving, as Walhalla head coach Nick Groomes said he was nearly moved to tears to see Crowe come walking through the gates of Razorback Field prior to Walhalla’s game against Greenwood.

“When I saw him pull up, it tore me up too, because that kid loves this game, and I know his dad would want him to play,’ Groomes said. “I just wanted to see if he wanted to play, and he didn’t even let me get the question out of my mouth before he said he was playing.”

Crowe’s night didn’t get off to a particularly flashy start, as he flew out center field to end the bottom of the first inning, before Walhalla eventually fell behind 13-1 against a strong Greenwood squad.

But with the thought of his father omnipresent, Crowe went on to turn in an unforgettable performance, as he ended his night 5-of-6 at the plate, and was the key reason Walhalla rallied back late to make the final score 16-12 in a game his father certainly would have been proud of.

“Every game he’d call me and ask what I thought about the game, how many hits I had,” Crowe said. “He’d call me after every game, he was at all my games and he loved to watch me play and I loved him being there.”

His Seneca High School coach, Andy Bay, was in the crowd Tuesday night to witness Crowe’s emotional night, and said he sat in awe of what his recently graduated senior standout was doing despite the tragic loss of his father.

“I’m not sure I could do that, and I’m 33 years old,” Bay said. “His dad went to most of his games and was a huge fan of Matt as a baseball player, so I think it meant a lot to Matt to get back out there. To execute like he did was unbelievable.”

And while Walhalla ultimately came up short on the scoreboard, that wasn’t the important thing on Tuesday night, as the team gathered in left field for a bit longer than usual following the game, as Groomes again became emotional when assessing exactly what Crowe was able to accomplish.

“I got a little emotional,” Groomes said. “What that kid did tonight, what he came out and did after that terrible tragedy. For him to come out and put five hits on the board, that really got to me, and I wanted the boys to know that.”

During that meeting the tears flowed, as Crowe was presented an autographed baseball from all of his teammates, as well as several cards, which struck a chord with him.

“Coach was just talking about how in life you can’t ever give up, and how I was an example of that tonight,” Crowe said. “It just really got me how they were all there for me and it really means a lot.”

One teammate in particular who grieved alongside Crowe was his former Seneca teammate Tripp Ross, who admittedly struggled with Wayne’s passing due to a close bond the two developed over the years.

After Wayne served as a scoutmaster to Ross, the Anderson University-bound standout looked to the elder Crowe as a father figure due to his parents divorcing while he was young.

With that, Ross had some added perspective when it came to Crowe’s decision to take the field on Tuesday.

“I’ve known his dad all my life and he was kind of a father to me,” Ross said. “He was a great man and I loved him so much, but I put myself in Matt’s shoes and he was a great guy and I probably would have done the same thing as Matt.

“It was pretty special to see that and it showed a lot of good character Matt has, especially coming out and doing as well as he did.”

And while Crowe was emotional after the game, he didn’t see anything particularly impressive about his performance because to him, it was just a matter of getting back in action and a sense of normalcy.

“I just had to come out here on the field and get it off my mind, get back to what I love, and I know my daddy would want me to keep on playing,” Crowe said. “He wouldn’t want me to stop just because of him.”

But anyone who witnessed Crowe’s play on Tuesday saw much more than that, as performances like the one he turned in don’t come around often.

“There’s a life lesson in there,” Groomes said. “When you face adversity, you come back and life goes on. You have to pick up the pieces and get back to doing what you do, and that’s what I was trying to teach the boys.

“As long as I coach, I’ll always remember this night right here and I’ll remember that kid.”