Locals compete in record-setting five-day/121-hour softball game

Three local athletes – Sully Deel and Benny Rutherford of Pike and Nick Kelly of Thomaston – recently participated in the longest marathon playing softball game and helped set a new Guinness World Record by playing 121 hours consecutively.

But it wasn’t all fun and games, the event was able to raise more than half a million dollars to fight against human trafficking. The three men are brothers-in-law and all attend City of Refuge in Thomaston.

Men Opposing Sex Trafficking (MOST) is a nonprofit organization based in Atlanta that operates under the City of Refuge umbrella. They hosted the softball marathon in Cartersville, Georgia with 40 players who started playing at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17 and all 40 players were able to compete until 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. They successfully broke the existing world record of 115 hours by playing 121 hours.

Donations can still be made for the cause and to celebrate the world record at WeAreMOST.org. Sully said the softball company Anarchy created MOST bats and they were given to the athletes at the end of the historic game. They also received softballs from a sister organization to MOST.

“House of Cherish takes in women and children rescued out of trafficking and also rescued out of abusive homes,” he said. “The women of House of Cherith gave us softballs with their logo to show us their appreciation for fighting for them.”

Under Guinness rules, up to 40 players were allowed to participate, with no fewer than 20 of the same players completing the challenge. The players were required to sleep by the dugouts and eat their meals on the field.

“The most challenging part was a combination of muscle soreness and sleeping. We averaged about four hours of sleep spread out across each day. Our beds were covered in ants and other bugs. Pretty everyone got bit by ants as they slept and pretty much everyone got stung by yellow jackets at some point,” said Sully.

“We were not allowed shade over our beds and we were required to stay right next to the dugout the entire time. So daytime sleeping just had to occur in the 89 degree sun,” he said. “My body got so sore that it literally felt like my bones were hurting. But the game had to be legitimate. So no matter how sore or tired we felt, we still had to run hard, hit hard, and throw hard.”

The previous record of 115 hours was set in Canada in 2009. This was MOST’s second attempt at breaking the world record. In April, they played for 52 hours, but inclement weather, injuries and player shortages prevented the team from achieving their goal at that time. This time, Sully hit a grand slam and a home run and Benny hit two runs in the successful marathon softball game.

By breaking the softball marathon record, the nearly two-year-old organization aims to raise awareness of its mission to combat sex trafficking and encourage men to take a stand. MOST highlights that over 95% of individuals purchasing illegal sex are men. While initially focused on raising awareness, MOST now employs two analysts who track sex trafficking activity and an 11-man interdiction team, made up of military and law enforcement veterans, who assist local authorities across the country in sting operations.

“It was a pretty amazing atmosphere. It didn’t really matter how tired or sore we were. The brotherhood was strong. We were fighting for women, girls and boys who do not choose the pain they endure. Each STING operation costs MOST about $30,000. We raised over $500,000 and counting,” said Sully. “We also plan to break more Guinness Records in the future to further raise money and bring awareness to the problems around sex trafficking and to continue to perform STING operations.”