John Rolewicz home plate dedication

By Jensyn Hartzell

Sports Editor

John Rolewicz graduated from Washington College in 2012. He played baseball at WC during his four years; he was a catcher. Rolewicz passed away in July of 2020 due to NUT Carcinoma, a rare and deadly form of cancer. 

He was born in Newark, DE in 1990 to Missy and Dennis Rolewicz. He has a brother, Joe Rolewicz, and a sister, Jill Mulligan. He was also married to Emily Rey Rolewicz. 

The WC baseball team is currently in the process of trying to dedicate their home plate at Athey Fields on campus to Rolewicz to commemorate him.

“As a catcher, the home plate is symbolic of where he spent a lot of his time on the field and a place that was very important to him,” said the head coach of the WC baseball team, Cory Beddick. 

While on the team, he was captain and an All-Centennial Conference player his junior and senior year. He was also voted team co-MVP and recognized by the Centennial Conference for the All-Sportsmanlike award, both in 2011. 

Combining all four years, Rolewicz had a total of 13 home runs and a batting average of .338. 

Around campus Rolewicz was also a peer mentor, inducted into the National Honors Society, and made the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll multiple times.

After graduating, he had been an active member of the Alumni Community and showed support throughout the years. He had become a financial analyst for Booz Allen Hamilton for seven years. 

His love for baseball continued even after college as he would frequently umpire local high school baseball teams games. 

“He was an instrumental member of the 2012 Shoremen baseball team that made it to the Centennial Conference Championship game,” said Beddick.

During Rolewicz’s senior year, the team had made it to the championship games, where they sadly lost in game six against Haverford. 

This was extremely momentous for the baseball team and the college as a whole, as Shoremen and Shorewomen do not get to play in Conference Championship Games very often. 

The Official WC baseball’s Instagram page has two posts already dedicated to Rolewicz. According to the first post, he “epitomized everything that Shoremen Baseball Program stands for,” like selflessness, commitment, and dedication. 

The WC baseball team’s plan is to hang a plaque above the home plate with Rolewicz name and his story. They are currently looking for donations to make this happen. 

If you would like to help out, please visit www.washcoll.edu/giving/memorial-gifts.phpYou may also contact Coach Beddick (cbeddick2@washcoll.edu) or the WC Athletics Gifts Officer, Sean Flanigan (sflanigan2@washcoll.edu

The team also plans to throw an unveiling ceremony once the plaque is done and hung. It would occur during a home game, hopefully during the 2021 spring season.

One thought on “John Rolewicz home plate dedication

  1. Thank you to all who are keeping my son, John, in your thoughts. The Home Plate dedication is so touching, it means so much to our family to have him remembered so fondly. Washington College helped shape John into the man he was, he loved being a student here, and considered his baseball teammates his brothers.

    We are all looking forward to the Plate Dedication Ceremony this coming Spring, and seeing his friends join in honoring him. Washington College will always hold a special place in our hearts, as it did in John’s.

    His loving Mom,
    Melissa Rolewicz P12

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