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<p>PLYMOUTH &#8211; Early Sunday afternoon, traffic was slowed as police and fire engine sirens glared on the West Side of the Wyoming Valley.</p><p>In between the escorts was a float carrying players and coaches from the Swoyersville American Legion baseball team.</p><p>The squad had the best season ever of any Wyoming Valley legion team in history this past summer as it won a Pennsylvania State Championship for the third time in six years and finished third in the Great Lakes Regional Tournament, losing to the team that finished third in the country.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s amazing to have this type of celebration especially after how much work we put in this summer,&#8221; said outfielder Draig Ruff. &#8220;A lot of us have sacrificed a lot with vacations and stuff. So being able to have something like this is good for all the guys to be able to just hang out and chill and know that the work paid off this summer.&#8221;</p><p>A parade is something that Swoyersville has been accustomed to. In July, after winning the state championship, the team was escorted on the way home from the Cross Valley Expressway to Swoyersville. After a successful run in previous years, the team was also honored with a parade, once during the Plymouth Kielbasa Fest.</p><p>But Sunday&#8217;s was a celebration that is normally seen for a professional sports team. The route spanned six towns and more than six miles beginning at Family Dollar in Plymouth heading up Main Street to Route 11 in Larksville. From there, they went through Edwardsville before hitting Wyoming Avenue in Kingston and Forty Fort and concluding at the Swoyersville American Legion where a banquet and awards ceremony was held.</p><p>More than a dozen vehicles were involved the parade, including U.S. Army vehicles, firetrucks and police cruisers. Players riding on the float were seen throwing candy to bystanders. Riding alongside the players was the state championship trophy, red, white and blue balloons, an American Flag and the Swoyersville American Legion flag among other banners and signs. The team also briefly slowed down while passing The Wall That Heals at Wyoming Valley West High School.</p><p>Patty O&#8217;Donnell helped plan the celebration, setting up the parade route and getting in touch with local authorities to arrange traffic. She was aided by many others in the community, including parents, coaches and legion officials.</p><p>&#8220;This is to show how much appreciate how the players bonded and played for our legion, representing our town. It&#8217;s our way of showing appreciation for them,&#8221; said Chick Romanchick, the vice commander of Swoyersville American Legion Post 644. &#8220;The players and coaches give up their summers every year for us. It&#8217;s a long time. We appreciated that.&#8221;</p><p>It was a celebration for the team that was in the works, but didn&#8217;t occur earlier because of prior engagements and other activities. So it became an opportunity for the team to get together one last time as the celebration concluded with an awards ceremony at the pavilion at the legion.</p><p>A reunion of sorts was held for the team as college players made the trip back home, including top contributors such as Pat Adamski from Keystone, Ruff from Eastern, and Nate Baranski and Steve Banas from Bloomsburg.</p><p>&#8220;All of us get to spend some time together. We haven&#8217;t seen each other in about a month almost,&#8221; said first baseman Mike Kane. &#8220;We always got a great amount of fans. It&#8217;s big.&#8221;</p><p>Some might say that this run was the end of an era for the team because longtime coach and manager Gary Gavrish will not be returning. The run started when Gavrish and his son, Sean Toole, took over and led the team to a state title in 2014. Gavrish has been around the franchise for nearly two decades, beginning when the team went by Plymouth.</p><p>&#8220;Oh my God, so much. I can&#8217;t even say it all,&#8221; Ruff said when asked what Gavrish and Toole have brought to the team over the years. &#8220;They made it a dynasty. They make us a powerhouse throughout the league and I&#8217;m happy for being able to be here throughout their tenure. They&#8217;ve not only taught us on the field, but off the field as well.&#8221;</p><p>But there&#8217;s still plenty of talent returning next year, including Kane, who batted in the middle of the order for most of the season. Colin Conway, who is currently playing quarterback for Holy Redeemer, will also return along with a host of other contributors from the successful team.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re definitely going to lose a lot of key players, but still have a core set of guys,&#8221; Kane said. &#8220;Hopefully we get (assistant coach) Mark Baron to (head) coach since coach Gavrish is leaving. I think we&#8217;ll be able to make another run.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

LEGION BASEBALL: Swoyersville team honored with parade