THOMASTON – Camden Hills may have won the game Saturday, but it was not without a loss.

The loss is center fielder Matt Crockett who has now played his last high school baseball game.

At 1 p.m. Sunday, June 14, Crockett becomes the property of the United States Marine Corps and will be unavailable to play the biggest game of his high school career, the Eastern Class B Regional Championship.

When asked why the Marines right out of high school, Crockett’s answer was nothing short of what you would expect to hear from this young man.

“I didn’t really want to do the typical desk job, college thing,” said Crockett. “I knew it would make me a better person and hopefully I will take those values with me into my career and be a better me.”

For senior Matt Crockett, the win today, Saturday, was bittersweet. He along with the rest of the Camden Hills team have worked hard this season and now the team gets to go to Bangor to play for the Eastern Class B Regional Championship, an honor and a thrill for the team. However, they will have to do it without the services of Crockett on Tuesday.

“It’s really tough, but I am really glad our team could play, we came alive, our bats weren’t too good in the season,” said Camden Hills’ Matt Crockett. “The bats really came alive in the playoffs and I am expecting a letter from the boys in the next couple of weeks telling me about the big W in Bangor.”

After the game was over, Coach Hart held a meeting in the dugout to talk to the boys. He said the most important thing he had to say was the best decision he made all season was to put Matt Crockett on the team. He went on to talk about the leadership he provided and said that he will be greatly missed come Tuesday, but he was going to help protect our country.

That sentiment could be heard throughout the dugout, you could tell the coaches and teammates were going to miss their friend, but they are extremely proud of him.

“He is definitely going to be missed because he is such a leader out there in center,” said Camden Hills’ Daulton Wickenden. “He does so much for the team, just like today when we were down 2-0, everyone was sulking [and] hanging their heads and he came in and was like come on boys lets do this one for me. It’s just huge having him around and we are going to play for him when we go to Bangor.”

Crockett played in 16 games this season and hit .275, with eight RBIs, seven runs, nine singles and two doubles. It is in the outfield where he excelled with his speed. He had 34 putouts, three assists, and a double play for a .925 fielding percentage.

As Wickenden said, the team will miss his leadership in center field. However, knowing the kind of person Crockett is, the country just got a little safer with his arrival in the Marines.

Ron Hawkes/Sports can be reached at sports@penbaypilot.com.