Diamond Pack meets Valdosta today

Published 10:47 pm Monday, April 3, 2006

MOULTRIE — When Valdosta rolls into town to face Colquitt County tonight in a Region 1-AAAAA baseball game at Ike Aultman Field, the matchup will be of two teams coming off dramatic region-opening victories.

Valdosta defeated Coffee 4-3 on Friday at Bazemore Field when Will Welch hit a bottom of the seventh walkoff home run.

Colquitt County rallied from an 8-1 second-inning deficit to defeat Tift County 15-14 on the road in Tifton.

Valdosta’s victory may have been the more expected of the two.

The Wildcats had cruised into their region opener, while Coffee was just 3-9.

But the Trojans jumped out to a 1-0 lead, then rallied to tie the game at 3-3 with two runs in the fifth inning.

Valdosta scored two times in the fourth inning, which started with a double by Brent Turner and a single by Tuzer Chism.

Coffee starter Ryan Whiddon then hit Zane Sirmans with a pitch, but still nearly got out of trouble. He got another out, but Briggs Smotherman followed with a two-out single to give Valdosta a 2-1 lead.

Will Flail led of the fifth with a home run to put the Wildcats up 3-1, but Coffee scored twice in the sixth to tie the game.

That set up Welch’s game-winning shot over the fence in left-center off Whiddon.

Flail went the distance to get the win for the Wildcats, allowing seven hits and striking out four.

Turner was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles.

The Wildcats could go to 2-0 in the region if they plays as they did when they met the Packers on March 1 in the Hornet Classic.

Colquitt managed just four hits off Chism and reliever Daniel Fowler and Valdosta got a 12-2, six-inning mercy rule victory.

The Wildcats scored their 12 runs on just six hits, including two by Flail.

The loss was the first of seven in a row for the Packers, who finally shook off their lethargy with a three-game winning streak that included a pair of wins over Westover and another over Thomas County Central.

The Packers then lost 9-6 to Lincoln High of Tallahassee last Wednesday. But with the come-from-behind victory over Tift County, the Packers have won four their last five as they await the Wildcats.

The Packers dormant bats awoke with authority against the Blue Devils, who took a 13-1 record into the game.

The Packers banged out 22 hits, including five by Andrew Wallace.

The junior outfielder/pitcher had three doubles and a grand slam to help bring the Packers back.

Colquitt also got three hits each from Chance Pitts, Carter Jones and Scotty DeMott.

Sam Heath and Matt Weaver each had two hits in the game.

DeMott got credit for the win and Wallace, who had been sideline with a sore left shoulder, held off the Blue Devils down the stretch.

The offensive rebirth may have started last Wednesday in a 9-6 loss to Lincoln High at Ike Aultman Field.

In that game, that Packers rallied from a 9-2 deficit in the seventh inning on a grand slam by Heath, which turned out to be the first of two base’s loaded home runs in successive games.

And after Heath’s homer, the Packers loaded the bases again to put the potential winning run at the plate before the Trojans finally got the last out of the game.

PACKERS NOTES: The Packers, who had just one home run in their first 12 games, now have three in their last two. Javaris Jackson got his first career homer against Lincoln.

Weaver, who took a .231 batting average into the game against Lincoln, had three hits against the Trojans and two more against Tift County.

Wallace, who singled in his last at bat against Lincoln, now has hits in his last six at bats.

Tift County will try to bounce back from its loss to the Packers when it meets Houston County tonight.

Like the Blue Devils, the Bears are coming off a disappointing loss.

Houston took an 11-1 record into its meeting with Lowndes last Friday, but left Valdosta with 6-2 loss.

The Vikings broke open a close game with a big fifth inning in which they scored four runs with two out.

Matt Harper got the win and Jon Michael Redding had a pair of doubles for the Vikings, who travel to Coffee tonight.