Jason Rose could have done many things when his baseball career concluded in college.
He chose to be a high school baseball coach and teacher, where he became not only an ambassador for the game but a pillar in the community.
In 2016, the Twin Rivers High School graduate who coached and taught at Neelyville, Naylor and Doniphan, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and died just 32 days later at the age of 39.
His legacy will live on with the 2nd Annual Batting for Rosey Classic, a 12-team baseball and co-ed softball tournament set to take place September 30 at McLane Park.
"Jason loved God first, his family second, working with kids third and then it was baseball," Rose's wife Sarah said. "When people are here on earth with you, you don't see the lives they touched. Unfortunately it's after they're gone you realize how broad their reach was. This has been a blessing for me and a humbling experience to know how many people he impacted whether it was on the baseball field, in the classroom or in every day life."
Following his college baseball career at Williams Baptist, Rose returned to the area to coach and teach at Neelyville High School. He went on to become the athletic director for one year at Naylor, then moved to Doniphan where he became the middle school principal and coached baseball.
After a brief stint at the Bank of Missouri, Rose returned to high school administration as the principal at Naylor.
In the brief period before Rose's untimely passing, a group of his friends and family, spearheaded by Mike Cook, got together and looked for a quick way to help raise money for Rose's medical treatment in Houston. Their solution was a baseball tournament.
But when Rose passed away suddenly, the group didn't want to put an end to it. With the blessing of his wife Sarah, who began a memorial scholarship fund in her husbands name, the group is bringing back the tournament with all proceeds going to the scholarship fund.
"Jason was just one of those guys that never met a stranger and we all knew that baseball was a part of Jason's entire life," said Cook, a good friend of Rose's, who now serves as a co-coordinator of the event. "He was always encouraging, he always had uplifting words for everyone he met and he was a terrific coach.
"This seemed like the perfect way to honor him."
The group, along with Jason's wife Sarah and three boys, Luke, Sam and Seth, whom he coached as well, help coordinate everything with the tournament, from taking tickets, to working the concession stand and collecting donations.
Rose's two oldest sons will even be playing in the tournament for the second year in a row.
"We'll be there all day and if they need me to sell T-shirts or work the concessions, I'll be doing it," Rose said. "Last year we just basically showed up and I watched my boys play baseball. This year I said as long as I don't have to umpire I'll do whatever they need me to do. I'll even coach because I want to be able to help in any way I can."
Last year, Cook said 12 teams participated in the event, which had two separate tournaments for kids and adults. The group has raised around $3,000 from past events and is looking for even more this year.
"Really anything we can get would go a long way," Rose said. "At the beginning fundraising is easy and events are easy, but as time goes on it gets a little harder to raise money. I'm trying to not be too overzealous in the beginning and build up some money in the fund so we're able to help kids who really need help."
Co-ed softball is new to the tournament this year and will consist of three divisions -- Competitive, Recreation and Fun -- with six teams in each, according to Cook.
Marcus Pattillo, another friend of Rose's who is helping organize the tournaments, said six baseball and six softball teams have already registered.
"I grew up playing baseball with Jason from our very first game all the way up until high school and against each other in college," Pattillo said. "The love and passion he had for the game, whether that was playing it, coaching it or teaching it, was far and away one of his favorite things of life. I'm humbled and honored to help carry on his legacy with this tournament."
All divisions will have a three-game guarantee bracket and T-shirts will be given to the winning teams.
Hitters will start with a 1-1 count with a limit of two home runs per team. There will be a 55-minute time limit for each game except the championship. Run rules are 20 after three innings, 15 after four innings and 10 after five innings.
There will also be a silent auction along with a 50/50 raffle during the tournament.
The entry fee is $150 per team with all proceeds going to the Jason Rose Scholarship Fund, which Rose hopes to expand in the coming years.
"Right now the scholarship is going to a graduating Naylor senior," she said. "We would hope to see it grow and move to all the schools Jason was involved with in the near future."
Batting for Rosey is one of those events that transcends the world of sports and serves three purposes, each close to Rose's family.
"This tournament serves as a way for friends, family members and the community to come together to keep Jason's memory alive, raise money for deserving kids in his honor, and most importantly, provide people an opportunity to enjoy playing the sport that Jason loved," Cook said.