The Tullahoma Test Pilots recently held their home opener against the Gallatin Longhunters and won by a score of 12-2.

It was one of the more fun scenes at the Tullahoma High School baseball team’s home field on June 5. Grider Stadium was filled to the brim with Tullahoma fans, although things were slightly different from what they were in the spring. Fans of Tullahoma sported new colors of merch. Not the typical black, red, and white seen with THS, but rather blue, white, and royal gold, representative of Tullahoma’s newest ball club, the Test Pilots.

The summer wood bat team, the Tullahoma Test Pilots, is part of a six-team expansion league stemming from a group called The Players’ League, which runs multiple similar leagues across the USA. At the opening home game, residents seemed to take to the new ball club well. The environment was great, and the packed house got to cheer on a double-digit win for the Test Pilots.

Tullahoma developed a large lead over Gallatin early, as they jetted out to a 7-0 lead by the end of the second inning. Helping charge the following advantage were several Tullahoma players. In the two frames, the Test Pilots had a total of five hits and five walks. The knock that did the most damage for Tullahoma came off the bat of Test Pilots’ right fielder Ryan De La Maza.

He had a hard-hit double that landed near the left field wall. The bases were loaded for Tullahoma, and De La Maza’s hit had more than enough steam on it to score all three players on base for the Test Pilots.

Tullahoma’s starting pitcher was a familiar face for locals. He was one of the shutdown arms in the Wildcats’ run to a second consecutive state tournament appearance in the 2025 season, Grayson Waller. He looked more than comfortable coming back and playing on his old stomping grounds. He pitched a total of five innings, allowed five hits, one run, and had a total of six strikeouts.

A couple of other notable performers for the Test Pilots against the Longhunters were Tyson Copley and Jayron Morris. Copley went 2-4 and had two RBIs. His RBIs came from a double he hit on a line drive to left field in the sixth inning. Morris went 1-4 from the plate and also had two RBIs.

The Test Pilots now have an overall record of 1-1 on the season. Their next two games will both be at home. They will play the Columbia Jumpin’ Jacks on June 9 and will take on Gallatin again on June 11.