Catfish IF reels in the catch of a lifetime from Capaha stands

As he patrols the left side of the Cape Catfish infield, third baseman/shortstop Lane Crowden can’t afford to take his eye off the action for a second. However, that hasn’t always been the case.

Shortly following his graduation from Jackson High School in 2020, Crowden was playing in a SEMO Conference All-Star game at Capaha Field, and – at least for a moment – he was captured by the presence of a fan in the stands, whom he found strikingly beautiful.

“I went to the game with a friend,” the former Chloe Thurmon explained, “and Lane was a friend of hers. He asked her for my number.”

It has proven to be the greatest catch of Crowden’s career.

So, follow along here.

Crowden was representing Jackson at the game and was playing in front of former Saxony Lutheran High School basketball standout, Maddox Murphy, whom he was friends with.

Thurmon, who was a volleyball player at Dexter High School, and Murphy were also friends, and at the game together. That is when Crowden forgot about potential line drives long enough to go ga-ga over Thurmon.

Ironically, all three were at Capaha Field playing/watching baseball again on Friday.

Thurmon, 20, was there to watch her husband (more on that in a moment), while Murphy works for the Catfish.

With Maddox playing the role of matchmaker, Crowden got Thurmon to go play frisbee golf in Bloomfield with him (Chloe had to explain to Lane where Bloomfield was) on a first date, and the rest is history.

Fast-forward to Friday and the Crowden’s (both Lane and Chloe), who were married on December 17 of last year, were just enjoying being in the same STATE as each other, let alone at the same ballpark.

“It was hard,” Chloe said of the couple’s first six months of marriage. “It was probably one of the hardest things that I have ever done.”

The love part of the marriage wasn’t difficult.

“It just seemed like we both knew what we wanted,” Lane said. “We wanted to be with each other for the rest of our lives.”

What was challenging was the logistics of life over the last year.

Lane, 21, had finished his playing days at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff in the spring of 2022, while Chloe, who graduated from Dexter in 2021, was also a student at Three Rivers, where she is studying elementary education.

That year was easy. The “hard” part was last year, after Lane signed to play at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, and Chloe was still at Three Rivers, which are 200-plus miles apart.

A week before he embarked on his next educational and athletic opportunity, he got down on a knee, not to field a grounder, but to catch Thurmon’s heart, and there was no “E-6” recorded.

“Getting married made sense to us,” Lane explained. “The question was, ‘What are we waiting on?’”

Chloe put miles on her car over the school year and would make the drive to Indiana a couple of times each month, but she had a life too. She worked at a boutique in Poplar Bluff, as well as operates a videography business (shooting weddings). However, being engaged made the absence of each other EASIER, if not EASY.

“Being engaged,” Chloe said, “that made it easier. I knew that I wanted to be married before I moved (to Evansville).

“I told myself, ‘Next year, I will be living with you. So, this is just one year.’”

The couple had a small ceremony in Cape Coral, Florida last December, and are ecstatic about their future together.

Lane was injured in February, which ended his baseball season, so he ended up having more time for Chloe’s weekend visits than originally planned.

“I could go see him,” Chloe said, “and we could begin to build a life together.”

The young couple believes that the worst is behind them, as they have actually been in the same locale this summer and will be in Evansville together over the next two seasons.

“God willing,” Lane said, “the long-distance thing worked out. It’s so good to be together.”

Crowden connects

Crowden had a great game on Saturday in leading the Catfish (33-14 overall, 11-8 second half) to an 8-4 win over Normal (22-25, 7-13).

Crowden had a double as one of his two hits and also drove in three runs while scoring once and walking once.

Catfish hitters Kevin McCarthy, Brody Chrisman, and Tucker Stockman also had a couple of connections in the win.

For the second consecutive game, Dante Zamudio drove in three runs in the win.

Former Notre Dame pitcher Noah Gadberry threw five innings in his start and did not allow a run.

He gave up just two hits and struck out three batters while also walking three.

Cape will host Normal on Sunday at Capaha Field at 4:35 p.m.