MOULTRIE — Colquitt County varsity baseball coach Tony Kirkland visited with the middle school coaching staff before Monday’s eighth-grade game against Lowndes at the Knuck McCrary Complex and stressed the importance of winning against Lowndes, one of South Georgia’s top programs.
The middle school staff of Daniel Dalton, Josh Purvis and Will Southwell passed the word along to eighth-grade team, which took it to heart, beating the Vikings 13-5.
The eighth-grade Packers banged out 14 hits, including Preston Berry’s second home run of the season, and got solid pitching from Ross Goforth and Ryan Chatman to defeat the Vikings.
The Packers sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first and scored seven runs.
Lowndes pulled to within two at 7-5, before Colquitt scored six more times.
Goforth started and went five innings, giving up all five runs, although only three were earned.
He gave up five hits, walked four and struck out five.
Goforth walked the first two batters he faced in the second inning, but after a brief meeting with pitching coach Josh Purvis, he struck out the next three to end the inning.
Ryan Chatman pitched the final two innings and did not allow a run. He gave up just one hit, did not walk a batter and struck out three.
Andy Bush went 3-for-4 to lead the eighth-graders at the plate.
Austin Hunnicutt was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and three runs batted in.
Goforth was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and two RBIs.
Daniel Mobley also had two hits, including a double.
Berry, Gabe Mobley, Jonah Bozeman, Cole Bryant and Mack Hathcock had the other hits. Hathcock’s was a double.
The eighth-graders, now 6-0, will play again on Friday as part of seventh grade-eighth grade doubleheader against Hahira beginning at 5 p.m. at the Knuck McCrary Complex.
The 2-1 seventh-grade team will travel to Lowndes on Wednesday.
