Rallying a town: Sardis baseball seniors' legacy goes beyond the field

SARDIS CITY — A 2023 state final appearance. Three straight Etowah County titles. Four straight area crowns .

That's the legacy the 2024 Sardis baseball senior class will be leaving, at least on the field. Off the field their legacy goes beyond the tangible results. The easiest way to show it was to go to Sardis and see the crowd over the last two seasons, where more than 1,000 fans became common as the community rallied behind the team — flatbed trucks and train horns included.

The Lions 7-0 season-ending loss to Alexandria in the third game of the Class 5A quarterfinals doesn't change that the seniors have established a new standard for Sardis, on and off the field. If anything, it only enhances their legacy. Coach Kevin Vinson said he knows the team will be able to look back over the past few seasons and hopefully will appreciate what they did for not only themselves, but their town.

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"They're going to be able to look back at these days and think of it of some of the most special of their lives because they brought a whole community together," Vinson said. "They brought the town of Sardis City together and for certain nights in the spring for the past two or three years, the town of Sardis has shut down on baseball playoff nights. That's a testament to these guys, they are the ones who started that tradition here."

Vinson's goal of understanding what they have been doing by bringing the support out was not missed by the players, who understand that bringing all the fans has been a special experience.

"When you're doing the national anthem and there's a 1,000 people in the outfield. You can't ask for better than that. It's unbelievable," senior Blaze Gerhart said.

For Connor Lowery, who was the hero in game two with his nine strikeouts in a two-hit, one-run outing on Wednesday. He said he knows he has a memory that will last a lifetime, regardless of how Thursday's game went.

"It's been amazing. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I love all the fans and the players that I played with. It's been a great year," Lowery said. "... I'll never forget that memory for sure."

For Vinson, personally the journey that the team has taken him on but what has been more special is the players on the team. No one wanted the journey to end on Thursday but Vinson would choose to do it over again with this group of players.

"They've been with me a long time. I love them like their my own. They have given me some of the best experiences of my life and I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone else. I'm not glad it ended the way it did but if it was going to end the way it did, I'm glad it was with these guys because these guys are winners," Vinson said.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Rallying a town: Sardis baseball seniors' legacy goes beyond the field