JucoDad - great, great story and memory. Only true baseball people get this type of stuff. It's not just about winning and losing. It's about competing. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes it eats you. I always kid with people, that team on the other side have parents and grandparents who want to see their kids win equally as well as you do. That memory you describe, however, is just as fine a memory as the winning team had only a few moments later. Before the final blow of the game, the three run homer simply had to feel like it was your year and it must have been absolute elation. I believe both teams can "win" in a game and I'll never back down from that feeling. Who would have thunk a four-run, walk-off homer would have beaten you before it actually happened? Of course it hurt at the time, but that is the way baseball is.
I saw an excellent documentary on MLB network about Dennis Ekersley. There were the highest of highs in his life and the lowest of lows. I thought they asked him a dumb question about the famous Kirk Gibson homerun in the World Series. They asked him if he wished he would not have played in that game knowing how it turned out or something like that. He said something like absolutely not, it was one of the greatest moments in MLB history and he was glad to be a part of it. Obviously, he wished it had gone the other way but he was still grateful for the opportunity. I have great memories from winning and losing. Have experienced the low points like you describe. I wouldn't trade the experience however regardless of the outcome.