NewsCovering Kentucky

Actions

'More than baseball': Estill Co. team honors late coach

Posted at 11:17 PM, May 17, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-17 23:18:55-04

ESTILL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Estill County High School's baseball team won its 11th game of the season Monday night, which came after an emotional week.

The Engineers played their first game since head coach Blake Crowe died, after he was electrocuted on Sunday, May 9.

Before the game, Crowe's family, including his wife and two children, joined players and coaches along the first base line for a moment of silence to honor the late coach. Among the coaches was Crowe's father, who agreed to take over the team in his son's place.

"[The family's] just living a nightmare, but in the same sense, he knows that this is what Blake would want," said Billy Wiseman, Crowe's uncle.

Crowe's father, Brian, had formerly coached the Engineers.

"[Blake's dad] taught both his boys how to play ball," Wiseman said. "And he was able to coach them up through Little League. And finally Blake's dream was to come back home and lead the engineers."

Crowe, 28, was a graduate of Estill County High School and Berea College, where he played baseball. At the time of his death, he was also a math teacher at Estill County Middle School.

In a post on Estill County Middle School's Facebook page, Crowe was described as having a "positive and uplifting attitude" and that his "love for others will not be forgotten."

Wiseman said that during his nephew's first season as head coach this spring, Crowe would often remind his players that the bond they shared transcended the field.

"Family always sticks together," Wiseman said. "That's what he wanted them to be."

In honor of Crowe, fans wore shirts to Monday's game that read "More than Just Baseball," a phrase that he often preached to his players.