It was a night of celebration in Crofton.
Many gathered to watch a 13-inning classic South Central League baseball contest between Crofton and Wynot before the lights went out and fireworks lit up the night sky.
Before the game, the ’82-’83 Crofton legion championship teams were honored before the game.
“The best thing about being from a small town (is that your teammates from those teams) are still some of your best friends even though you don’t talk to them every day,” said Doug Eggen, a member of the team.
“It’s not easy to get everybody together again but it was worth it. I wish we could do it every year.”
In 1982, Eggen said the younger guys wanted to win the tournament for the seniors. In 1983, he stated “it was our turn.”
“The next year we had some new players, but we had the core team still together,” he said. “After you’ve been there once, you knew what to expect. We went undefeated in ’83 in the tournament. Call it experience or Steve Hegge’s pitching.”
Teammate Jim Sawatzke echoed Eggen’s sentiments about the small-town team working together to achieve its ultimate goal.
“We grew up together from grade school on playing together,” Sawatzke said. “You knew everybody’s habits and talents.
“You were trying to win for that guy in the position next to you because we were just friends.”
Despite championship aspirations, Eggen added the team was just having fun and playing baseball.
“A lot of people came to watch. It was a big deal,” he said. “It was so fun that we didn’t look at it as being pressure packed.”
Still, the team cared about values such as teamwork and sportsmanship instilled in them by manager Bob Hegge.
“He expected a lot out of you,” Eggen said, “He was a good teacher. He didn’t jump down your throat if you made a mistake. He would explain and you knew by the time he was done explaining what you’ve done wrong and you didn’t do it again. He brings a lot of respect.”
Sawatzke praised Coach Hegge’s competitiveness and said the players took after their coach.
“That made us move into competitive mode every game,” Sawatzke said. “His leadership and competitive spirit drove our team both years.”
Forty years later, Hegge was still coaching the team to line up when the Color Guard presented the American flag.
“He was still coaching us on how to line up and get organized,” Eggen said.
Still, being able to get the team back together was built on the camaraderie the players had as teenagers.
“We were a team and you were doing it for your brothers,” Eggen said.
“We all hung out together and all went places, not in the same cars, but we all ended up at the same places.”
On Monday, the group ended up at the ballpark one more time to reminisce and watch their town team win a classic baseball game.