Nonprofit attempting to set record for world’s longest softball game

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A metro Atlanta nonprofit wants to go yard for the longest softball game ever played.

“The record is 115 hours officially and 120 hours unofficially,” said organizer Bruce Deel. “We’re going for 121 hours.”

Deel is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Men Opposing Sex Trafficking (MOST).

“Too many people in America don’t believe it’s our issue,” Deel said.

To raise awareness and funds to help fight sex trafficking, Deel organized what he hopes is an epic softball game.

There are strict rules for the game to qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records.

Each team has 20 players who can be rotated in and out at intervals, players can not leave the immediate vicinity of the field, and they must sign in and out to use the facilities.

“You can only take five-minute bathroom breaks,” Deel said. “You can only take five-minute showers.”

Players eat and sleep when they can, powered by volunteers who bring them food and cots outside the field of play. There’s even a chiropractor on hand to help with any lingering back issues.

“We’re trying to combat good vs. evil and do some good in the world,” said Jake, a player for the White Team. “If we can do that playing softball, it’s a pretty good way to do it.”

There’s even a volunteer fanbase rotating in and out from House of Cherith, which helps women who have escaped sex trafficking.

“This is a stance--this is a statement--that men can help support women on both sides of the field,” said House of Cherith case manager Krystal Bobo.

If MOST accomplishes its 121-hour game, it will end on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 9 a.m.

So, as the innings and runs pile up and physical limits are tested, the players are stepping up to the plate for a bigger team than the one on the field.

“If you’re going to do something, do something no one else has ever done,” Deel said.

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