Near home plate at Elks Field on a brisk fall night, speakers recalled Mason Rohwedder’s love of, and respect for, baseball even while operating the glitchy scoreboard for a Santa Maria fall league.
His baseball buddies, family and others — about 200 in all — gathered Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil in honor of the 18-year-old former Santa Maria Indians and Orcutt Academy High School catcher.
Rohwedder died Oct. 24 in a crash involving his motorcycle and another vehicle at the intersection of College Drive and Bradley Road in Santa Maria.
Now, there’s talk of replacing and relocating the scoreboard in honor of the 18-year-old who played for the Indians, a summer Collegiate League team.
Indians General Manager Jimmy Melena recalled Rohwedder dealing with a scoreboard going on and off, before saying he solved the problem: Just don’t call balls or strikes and it works perfectly.
The small scoreboard that sits on the eastside fence shows its age. It also often can’t be seen because of the setting sun.
Melena vowed to replace the scoreboard with one bearing Rohwedder’s name and his jersey number of 9.
“I promise you, it’s going to happen,” he said.
Rohwedder reportedly was en route to Elks Field when a vehicle made a left turn in front of the motorcyclist, who died from his injuries. The crash remains under investigation by the Santa Maria Police Department.
He attended Cuesta College after graduating from Orcutt Academy in June. He previously went to Alice Shaw Elementary and Orcutt Junior High School.
In addition to sharing remembrances of Rohwedder, the vigil included a video showing him through the years, often wearing a uniform or with his motorcycle, as attendees held lit candles.
A baseball glove and three balls sat at home plate in honor of the catcher. Nearby, on separate easels, stood a large wreath with his jersey number and a photo of Rohwedder displaying his signature smile and baseball uniform.
Those who attended the vigil also signed banners with messages that will be displayed at the ball field during the Indians’ next season.
Former teammates and coaches recalled one key trait of Rohwedder: “He respected the game of baseball.”
“For you young men, understand life is short and it can be taken from you at any time as we now realize,” said Bryn Smith, who had a 13-year pitching career in Major League Baseball before returning to the Central Coast and remaining active in baseball programs.
Comments went beyond baseball, however.
“He loved everybody, and everybody loved him,” said an Alice Shaw School colleague of his teacher mom, Audrey Rohwedder.
When Melena asked for those whose pitches Rohwedder had caught through the years, more than two dozen young men stepped up, showing the teen’s longtime membership in local baseball programs.
“He had a heart bigger than all of us,” one former teammate said.
Rohwedder’s family, including his mother, expressed gratitude for those showing up to honor him while grieving the loss.
Family members, including father Anthony, sister Nevada and others, sat in chairs near home plate as supporters stood in a half-circle.
His grandfather, Ole Pedersen, who taught in the Orcutt Union School District for decades, and grandmother, Sharon Pedersen, also spoke.
She shared about times a young Rohwedder stepped up to help others.
“He did so many things like that through his whole life,” she said. “We’re going to miss him.”
