MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — David and Susan Crownover haven’t been this sleep-deprived since their kids were infants. But the nights are much more enjoyable now.
Susan just guided the GPS softball team to its fourth straight state championship, but first with the couple’s daughter Kelby as a player, while David is an assistant baseball coach at Ringgold, where their son Matthew is the star pitcher on a team playing for a Georgia state title today.
Three times this week David left practice at Ringgold and drove for more than two hours to watch GPS advance through the Division II-AA bracket. This morning the couple left out for Columbus (Ga.) for Ringgold’s three-game series for the Class AAA title.
“We’re living a dream right now because both our kids are playing for a state championship,” David said Friday. “Tonight is Kelby’s and Susan’s night, and then Saturday is Matthew’s day, and we aren’t worried about how tough it is getting back and forth. We’re just going to enjoy this. I mean, how many parents get to watch both their kids do something like this? It’s pretty unique.”
Ringgold’s doubleheader at Columbus would have been played Friday evening, but because of graduation for both teams it was moved back one day, allowing both Crownover parents to piece together a travel plan to watch both games.
GPS was no surprise to return to the title game in its classification, but Ringgold has been one of the bigger surprises in the Georgia baseball playoffs, having won three of its four playoff series on the road. When the Tigers were wrapping up their semifinal series Monday at Oconee County, Susan and Kelby listened on speaker phone as a relative called the play-by-play of the final six outs over the phone.
“We were going crazy in the living room,” Susan said. “I usually give my phone to one of our bench players or a parent when we’re playing so I can keep up with the calls or text messages when Ringgold is playing at the same time.
“I missed probably half of Matthew’s games this year, and David probably missed about that many of Kelby’s because we were on ballfields at the same time in different places. I could be frustrating, but at least as coaches we both have one of our own that we get to be with and watch play.”
Considering David and Susan planned their honeymoon in cities that would allow them to take in three major league baseball games, and family vacation used to be centered around going anywhere that would allow them to watch baseball, there is no place they would rather be than a ballfield. Since both children have become so involved in summer baseball and softball, the couple rarely spend their June anniversary together anymore.
“I can’t remember the last time we went on vacation that didn’t involve playing ball somewhere,” Susan said. “That’s been our summer vacations, but a lot of times me and Kelby will be in one place in Florida and David and Matthew are somewhere completely different in the summer.
“That’s just our family. We’re happiest when we’re at the ballfield together. And luckily, it’s worked out so we can be together this weekend.”
E-mail Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com