Cora Beth McCrary lays down a sacrifice bunt versus Thomas County Central in 2023.

TIFTON — Summer break is over. It’s time for high school sports.

The 2024-25 Tift County athletic season is scheduled to begin Tuesday, July 30, a softball scrimmage between Tift County and Thomas County Central. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. As always, outdoors sports are subject to weather The Weather Channel currently has Tuesday afternoon at nearly 50% chance of rain.

The scrimmage will be the debut for head coach Jen Walls, who took over the program from Taylor Barber this summer. Barber, who was initially going to slow down as solely a baseball assistant at Colquitt County, was named head coach of its fast-pitch team in a whirlwind of activity in Moultrie that saw former coach Chance Pitts (who had stepped down) get the reins of Colquitt’s new slow-pitch squad that debuts in spring 2025.

Tift will be a young squad this year, with no seniors on the roster. With four seniors finishing the season last year, youth started at five positions, giving the Lady Devils plenty of experience. Walls has been positive of their development as well as the contributions coming from last year’s eighth graders.

Thomas County Central and the Lady Devils were in the same region from 2022-24, but won’t be this year. TCC drops down to Class 5A while Tift is in the new Region 1-7A.

The Lady Jackets were a 15-15 team last season, finishing second in 1-6A and playing in the super regionals. Though Tift did not advance to the super regionals stage, they finished up the regular season in 2023 with a run-rule victory over TCC. Lily Robinson had the walk-off hit in the 13-5 victory.

One week after the scrimmage, Tift gets down to business with the regular season. Cairo is set to visit Aug. 6 for a doubleheader that begins at 3:30 p.m. The schedule lists a home game against Forsyth Central Aug. 9 before TCHS’ first road games.

Tift has one more home game — versus Cook on Aug. 20 — before region starts Aug. 27 at home against Lowndes.