About 15 Monroe County Region players met up in August for their last tournament game.

Aaron LaFountain was heartbroken.

As the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States in the spring, high school sports throughout the county and across the country were canceled.

Many seniors felt like their careers were over.

“I knew several guys on the Monroe High School team, and I was heartbroken for them,” said LaFountain, a long-time youth baseball coach who also was an assistant at MHS for a few years.

“I had this in the back of my mind that I should talk with (former MHS coach) Bubba Bezeau and see if we can get a team together and play a tournament – just one last time for these kids to play, since they lost their season.”

LaFountain said the idea got put on the backburner – until June.

“I talked to Bubba and asked him if he wanted to help me and he said, ‘Absolutely. I’m in.’”

From there, LaFountain and Bezeau spread the word, talking to seniors and calling other Monroe County coaches to get a team together.

LaFountain, Bezeau and Chad Winkelman, the other assistant coach, ended up getting 15 players from Monroe High, St. Mary Catholic Central, Ida, Summerfield, Dundee and Whiteford high schools.

They had to call in some underclassman after some early commitments had to back out, and some players were only available for one of the two days during the Aug. 8-9 tournament due to graduation and other commitments.

“I was ecstatic,” said MHS graduate Trent Hall when LaFountain asked him if we wanted to play. “All of us seniors lost the chance to play our last games for our high schools. It was a great idea.”

Ida graduate Jaxon Gianino added, “Not everyone on the team was going to play college ball, so everybody was playing for the same reason: To play for fun and get one last tournament in together. And, because we’re all from the same area, we got along so well.”

Maybe it was being from the same area, or maybe it was getting that one last time to play, but there was a special chemistry for the team.

Despite limited practice time, the squad went 3-1 in the tournament, losing in the championship game.

”I was just hoping they would have a fun time,” Bezeau said. “I didn’t think that, in a week and a half of practice that we could put anything together enough to be a good team. But they jelled together pretty well.”

In the first day of the tournament, Monroe beat Sandusky 18-1, and then rallied for a 5-4 victory over West Toledo in the second game.

On day two, Monroe beat Brighton in the semifinals, 11-2. In a rematch with West Toledo, they lost the championship, 4-2.

LaFountain said the defense was excellent, with the team committing only one error during the four games.

Among the defensive gems were SMCC’s Drew Todd making a diving catch in the outfield and then doubling a runner off base. Another SMCC graduate, Evan Rogoff threw a runner out at the plate from the outfield and nearly had a second.

MHS’ Carson Goodnough paced the offense, going 7-for-14, including two triples, and led the team with 6 RBIs. SMCC’s Nieko Castiglione, MHS’s Ty Ickes and Gianino racked up six hits each. Gianino led Monroe with three home runs.

But the tournament success wasn’t the only special memory for the team.

Monroe’s uniforms carried the initial JB and GH in honor of Bezeau’s son, Jerid, and Hall’s dad, Greg, who died earlier this year.

“Aaron surprised me,” Bezeau said. “It was quite a tribute to my family and to the Hall family.”

Hall also said he appreciated the tribute. “My dad was a big inspiration in my life for baseball. He pushed me to do everything the best I can.”

Gianino, who will play baseball for Adrian College, said the tribute to Bezeau and Hall was extra motivation.

“I was really shocked,” he said. “It gave me another reason to play harder and go out and have fun, and play the game the way you should.”

Hall, who is attending the University of Toledo, said it is an experience he won’t forget.

“Aaron deserves a big thank you,” Hall said. “He really stepped up for all the seniors. I’m really thankful to him.”