MOULTRIE —
The Colquitt County seventh-grade baseball team won its season-opener on Wednesday, defeating Valdosta 8-6 on the road.
But at Packer Park, the eighth-grade team could not hold a 6-3 fourth-inning lead and dropped its second game in seven days to Lee County, 7-6.
The eighth-grade Trojans defeated the Packers 5-0 in Colquitt’s season-opener on Valentine’s Day.
The Packers ensured they would not be shut out again when they scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Lee County scored an unearned run off Packers starter Griffin Simmons in the top of the first.
But in the bottom of the first, Jacob Coots drew a one-out walk and Hayden Bledsoe was hit by a pitch.
Buck Blalock followed with a double to left to score Coots and tie the game.
One out later, Logan Wheeler singled to center driving home Bledsoe and Blalock to give the Packers a 3-1 lead.
Maleek Spratling’s two-out, two-run homer to left in the top of the third tied the game at 3-3.
But the first three Packers reached in the bottom of the third to start a three-run uprising.
Austin Singletary opened the inning with a roller to third that he beat out for a hit. He went to second when the throw sailed past first base.
Chason Fannin then laid down a bunt and beat it out when Spratling, the pitcher, could not decide where to throw the ball once he fielded it.
Singletary scored on a wild pitch and Fannin rode home on a single by Blalock. That hit also scored Wheeler Hunnicut to give the Packers a 6-2 lead.
It also gave the Packer third baseman three RBIs for the game.
But the Packers were unable to score again.
And Lee County tied the game in the top of the fifth, scoring three runs on just one hit while taking advantage of two walks and two hit batsmen.
The Trojans scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the seventh without the benefit of a hit.
Packer relief pitcher Austin Singletary struck out Garrett Glover to open the inning, but Glover reached when the ball rolled away from Packer catcher Logan Wheeler.
Glover then went to second on a wild pitch and stole third.
Will Lang, who entered the game as a pinch hitter, grounded out to short to scored Glover.
“That was my fault,” said Packers coach Craig Pitts. “I should have had the infield in.”
The Packers were retired in order in the bottom of the inning and fall to 1-2 on the season.
Simmons kept the Packers in the game with four strong innings.
He gave up three runs, only two of which were earned on the Spratling home run.
He walked only one and retired the last four batters he faced after surrendering the homer.
Simmons struck out seven, including four in the second inning.
One strikeout victim reached on a wild pitch.
“He did a great job,” Pitts said of Simmons.
Chaz Smith faced six batters in the fifth before giving way to Singletary, who pitched the final 2.1 innings.
Singletary got the final out in the fifth and got Spratling to look at a called third strike with the bases loaded to end the sixth.
And although he took the loss, Singletary gave up just one hit and struck out five.
Hunnicutt, Blalock and Wheeler each had two hits for the eighth-grade Packers.
Blalock’s first-inning double was Colquitt County’s only extra base hit.
Singletary and Fannin had the other.
Wheeler drove in two runs.
The eighth-graders will travel to Nashville today to take on Berrien in a 4 p.m. conference game.
Colquitt will return to Packer Park on Monday for a 4 p.m. game against Coffee.
While the eighth-graders were playing their third game of the season on Wednesday, the seventh-graders made their season debut a winning one at Valdosta, despite what coach Daniel Dalton called some “first-game jitters.”
Colquitt used four pitchers, getting two innings of work from Raines Plant, Tucker Hathcock and Ethan Phillips and an inning from Gavin Patel.
The four combined to strike out five batters.
Cory Newsome and Reid Pipkin each had two hits and Patel, Phillips and Mack Crosby each had one. All were singles.
The seventh-grade team will play its home-opener on Tuesday when Coffee visits Packer Park.
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Related Photos
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Wheeler Hunnicutt of the Colquitt County eighth-grade team scores on a single by Buck Blalock as the throw gets away from Lee County catcher Wayne Early. The eighth-grade Packers fell 7-6. Connie Southwell
Discussion
7th-graders win opener; 8th-grade falls to Lee County
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