Penn College's Tom Speicher, no stranger to the national pastime as the "Man in the Crowd" during the Little League Baseball World Series for the past two decades, can add "professional athlete" to his resume. Speicher was the winner of this year's "Make Your Cutters Debut" contest presented by the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, suiting up for the Williamsport Crosscutters' July 28 game against the Hudson Valley Renegades. An award-winning writer/video editor in the college’s Public Relations & Marketing office, Speicher signed a one-day contract and joined the roster for a number of activities in BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field: participating in batting and fielding practice; being interviewed on field by Gabe Sinicropi, the 'cutters' vice president for marketing and public relations; exchanging lineup cards; throwing out the ceremonial first pitch; and strategizing with teammates in the dugout throughout the evening. “It was a wonderful experience. The Crosscutters organization and the players could not have been nicer," he said. "I consider it a moral victory that I was able to hit the ball out of the infield during batting practice. And unlike my Little League playing days, it was actually fun to sit on the bench!” Speicher will rejoin his colleagues on the broadcast team for the duration of the Aug. 16-26 Series in South Williamsport.
Photos courtesy of the Williamsport Crosscutters