'Once in a lifetime' game for Tiftarea at Truist Park

Becky Taylor, The Tifton Gazette, Ga.
·2 min read

Apr. 22—CHULA — Tiftarea Academy had the opportunity April 17 to do what few high schools in the state have: Play at Truist Park.

Tiftarea took on Heritage of Newnan at the home of the Atlanta Braves and while the result goes as a 6-1 loss in the record book, head coach Chance Benson was not disappointed.

"It was awesome, a great experience," he said.

Tiftarea and Heritage originally were scheduled to play at Truist in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic ended the experience before it happened. Fortunately, the Braves allowed the teams to immediately reschedule.

The year's delay did thwart some of Benson's plans. He wanted his eighth graders to be able to play, which is permissible in GISA games. Heritage was in the GISA when this contest was originally scheduled, but switched affiliations to the GHSA last summer. When the two leagues collide, eighth graders are not allowed to suit up.

Still, Benson was able to bring the eighth grade players along and they were able to serve as team managers and shag flies in the outfield.

Seventeen players got an at-bat. Two more came in as courtesy runners. Benson said he wanted to give everyone a chance to hit, but ran into Heritage's pitching; the Hawks only surrendered two hits.

Hayden Murphy and Marshall Corkern delivered the hits for Tiftarea. Ben Matt scored a fifth inning run on a Jam Presley groundout.

Murphy was on the hill at the start. Both he and Logan Moore threw two scoreless innings. Others pitching were Jayk Sailer, Levi Stanfill and Presley. Heritage had the same idea as Tiftarea about player participation. Seven players threw an inning each for the Hawks and 16 stood at the plate.

Benson thanked Tiftarea's administration and boosters for allowing the trip to happen. He said the experience was "Once in a lifetime."

The trip also gave him some ideas for the future. He joked that he'd like to upgrade his own stadium, The Jungle, to Truist levels.

Tiftarea is back in its own territory for games. They defeated Brookwood Tuesday, 9-2, giving the Warriors their first region loss of the season. First place will be on the line Friday in a doubleheader between the two in Chula. Game one starts at 4 p.m.