SCRANTON -- The death of Corrections Officer Kris Moules is being felt especially hard at Lackawanna College in Scranton.
Moules and an inmate at the Luzerne County Prison died Monday after a fall down an elevator shaft during a scuffle.
Moules was a standout baseball player. Four years ago, he helped lead the college's baseball team to the Junior College World Series.
Those closest to him say he hoped to have a positive impact in his new role as a corrections officer.
In 2012, Kris Moules recorded the final out at first base to send his Lackawanna College Falcon baseball team to the Junior College World Series.
Moules would go on to coach at Lackawanna College before getting a job last year as a corrections officer at the Luzerne County Prison.
"Every day he came in, he gave me everything he had, and to that, I'm grateful to him," said his former coach Chris Pensak. "He always said to me, 'Skip, I owe you, I owe you,' and I always said, 'no, I owe you,' for the service he gave me."
Pensak was Moules' coach in 2012 and says Moules was like a son to him. He's fielded calls all day from former players just finding out the news.
He says Moules was drawn to a job as a corrections officer because he was always interested in public service.
"I always said, 'what can you contribute to society?' Life isn't about how much money you'll make or a title, it's about what you can contribute and what lives can you impact, and I think that was a way for him, and he loved it. For the short time he was there, he loved it. He looked forward to going in. I tried to talk him out of it numerous times but it's something he wanted to do," said Pensak.
Pensak says Moules had bigger ambitions of becoming a state trooper or a member of the secret service.
For now, those closest to him are focusing on the good memories, like that big win in 2012.
"His last year that he was here, they went to the National Junior College World Series out in Oklahoma. And while they were out there, they got to meet with Little League teams and he really spearheaded getting the Little Leaguers involved in our team," Danny Berg recalled.
Berg also coached Moules in 2012. The Lackawanna College baseball team lost one of its current players earlier this year in a motorcycle crash.
Coaches are preparing to have that tough talk again.
"Anytime you have to go through that, you always want to ask the question why? And you never really get that answer, so that's been the most difficult thing," Berg added.
Moules is also being fondly remembered at Wyoming Valley West, his old high school.
