South Georgia Waves

Yesterday when we were at the Jacksonville game we found out the South Georgia Waves team had moved from Albany GA to Columbus GA. This is only about 1 hour farther NW, so we were able to still make the game. The South Georgia Waves, a Single A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, were playing the Asheville Tourists in Golden Park. Golden Park has been in Columbus since 1926 and has seen many major leaguers appear and play there over the years, see photo below. The 1996 Summer Olympics saw softball being played at Golden and the other fields around it. This was the inaugural year for softball in the Olympics with the US getting the Gold medal, China the Silver, and Australia the Bronze. The Waves team moved here nine days before the season start because of a dispute between the owner and the City of Albany. They are still working on their program, but did have a roster available, so we could figure out who was playing. This is a nice, but older stadium. I think that it was fixed up before the Olympics with better concession area, new team dressing rooms, and seating. There were less than 100 fans in attendance. Jim found a foul ball that had been hit outside the stadium. There was a teenage girl who went out after each foul and eventually had five foul balls to take home. They don't have a mascot. There was no mid-game field grooming. The Waves got trounced by the Tourists 13-6. Six runs in the 4th inning were charged to the Waves starting pitcher. The box score wasTourists R-13, H-16, E-1, Waves R-6, H-9, E-2. Now known as the Columbus Catfish. 2007 affiliated with Tampa Bay Devil Rays with new Logo. 2009 team moves to Bowling Green, KY affiliated with Tampa Bay Rays.