MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County baseball team will honor the memory of former teammate Garron Wingate for the rest of the season with a helmet decal and a unique T-shirt.
Wingate, 19, pitcher for the 2024 Packers, died in an accidental shooting on March 28 in Statesboro.
The Packers batting helmets feature a sticker with Wingate’s initials GT as they resume their schedule and deal with his tragic loss.
And on Friday, before the team departed for their non-Region 1-6A game at Lee County, Wingate’s parents, Garrett and Brooke Wingate, presented the players and coaches with T-shirts that feature a logo that includes a baseball with Garron’s initials and his jersey No. 14, inside a pair of angel wings.
“Garron meant a lot to Packer baseball,” coach Ryan Strickland said. “His brother Davis means a lot to Packer baseball.
“His family means a lot to us. And we are going to be here for them in any way we can.”
Garron had committed playing baseball this season at Thomas University, but Strickland said an arm injury forced him to give up those plans.
But he remained in Colquitt County and was close to the 2025 team, of which his brother Davis, a sophomore, is a member.
Garron attended games that Davis played in.
“He was not one of those who graduated, moved on and you never saw him again,” coach Ryan Strickland said.
It obviously was a difficult week for the Packers.
But the grieving process included their participation in Tuesday’s visitation and Wednesday’s celebration of life.
Strickland estimated about a thousand people attended the celebration of the young man’s life.
“The community is wrapping their arms around the family and everyone impacted by it,” the Packers first-year coach said. “There has been so much love and so many gatherings in the family homes. It’s been awesome to hear all the laughter through all the tears.
“In my opinion, this is what we should learn and remember.”
When meeting with players, Strickland said he and his staff did a lot of listening and and made sure the young men knew it was all right to have and deal with their emotions.
“People deal with these things in their own ways,” he said.
The Packers had been scheduled to play spring break games in Jacksonville, Fla., but elected to remain in town and be part of celebrating their former teammate’s life.
They set their sights on returning to the field on Thursday for a game against Buchholz High in Gainesville, Fla.
“The seniors said they still wanted to play baseball and that Garron would have wanted them to play,” Strickland said.
Strickland said it was obvious the team had diverted from its routine and a sense of normalcy.
“But when you go though something like this, it’s important to be together,” he said. “You can tell the impact it has had, but they are starting to enjoy being around each other again.”
The bus trip to Gainesville was a part of the team’s healing.
Strickland also was able to schedule a game against Lee County on Friday.
“For a lot of our kids, this is the first time they’ve experienced anything like this,” Strickland said. “But we are going to celebrate his life. That’s what we will continue to do.
“And we are going to make it through this together.”