Tifton, Grady and Moultrie-Colquitt County will represent southwest Georgia at the state level in baseball and softball after tournament wins. 

The Bainbridge Decatur County Recreation Authority (BDCRA) hosted regional baseball and softball tournaments last week. They were part of the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) state tournament series.

The counties in GRPA District 3 sent all-star teams to compete. Counties represented include Bainbridge-Decatur, Crisp, Grady, Lee, Moultrie-Colquitt, Thomasville and Tifton. 

The Tifton County baseball team won in the 10u age group while Grady County finished first in the 12u age group. Moultrie-Colquitt County took home the 12u softball title.

Grady County beat Tifton in the 12u championship game to claim the crown of the southwest. It was a close game through the first three innings. If one team scored, the other would answer with runs of their own. Grady pulled away in the fourth, taking a double-digit lead. They would keep it that way through the fifth inning and end of the game. The message to the team from Grady Head Coach Daniel Womble: “We ain’t done yet.”

Grady will represent southwest Georgia in the GRPA state championship in Brunswick, GA. The Tifton 10u team will travel to Gainesville, GA for its tournament, and the Moultrie-Colquitt County softball team will play in Statesboro, GA.

Balancing multiple tournaments was a tall task that went smoothly, according to Joel Holmes, the executive director of the BDCRA.

“With tournaments this size with so much going on, you kind of almost have to anticipate that something’s going to go wrong,” Holmes said. “Honestly, this last week, it went really well. There was not anything that happened that was of any big concern.”

Growing the game

Holmes said hosting these tournaments — along with a supplemental 10u softball game — is the most he’s seen the BDCRA put on at once. It’s all to grow the recreation authority in Bainbridge to attract more tournaments in the future. 

“Moving forward, we plan on getting as many district sports that we can handle and even try to hopefully start getting state tournaments,” Holmes said. 

The Bill Reynolds sports park, where the BDRCA’s facilities are, is undergoing renovations. Holmes said the plan is to build soccer fields and a basketball gym to host tournaments in those sports. The first phase of construction — improving baseball fields — has already finished. Holmes said the BDRCA plans on taking advantage of the upgraded facilities.

“We’re definitely going to continue to bid on tournaments and even expand out, … start having travel baseball and softball tournaments,” Holmes said.