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Fayette teams battle in Cooperstown

By MICHAEL J. THOMPSON
mthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

It’s the dream of every kid who laces up his cleats and steps into the batters box to face an opposing pitcher down by three runs in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, a full count and the bases loaded.

It’s also a dream of many to one day be inducted into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

For two local baseball traveling teams, that dream was one step closer to reality when the Fayette Vipers and Fayette Falcons were two of the 80 teams picked out of 2800 teams that applied from across the nation to play in the 2005 Cooperstown Field of Dreams Tournament this past July 16-26.

Both of the teams are comprised of kids from Peachtree City and Fayetteville and are 12-under.

“We had a blast,” said Falcons manager Chad Barr, whose team went 5-3 in tournament.

“Each day we would play two games and then we would be free to go to the Hall of Fame or do things around the city,” he said.

The Vipers went 8-1 in the tournament, and finished in the top 15.

Both of the teams are part of the Peachtree City Georgia Baseball Association that was founded roughly seven years ago to improve baseball on the south side of town.

As part of the PCGBA, the teams can travel around the country and compete in tournaments.

“Since the creation of GBA, you’ve seen teams like Starr’s Mill High School become more competitive with the other big schools around Georgia,” said Barr.

The competing teams stayed in cabins, which were basically barracks that had 16 beds in them for the players and coaches, said Barr.

“The players were able to come together as a team during the week and half we were there,” said Barr.

Alex Barr, a member of the Falcons, said that going to Cooperstown was an experience he will never forget.

We played teams from all around the county, and in one game we played a team from Fresno, Cali., and when the game ended they gave us raisins, he said.

“We found out that Fresno is the raisin capital of the world,” Barr said.

Back in Fayetteville, Alex had only one other thing to say about Cooperstown.

“I just hope one day I get invited back,” he said.