Houston County defeats Packers

Published 10:41 pm Friday, April 7, 2006

MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County baseball team will go into its fourth game of the week today still seeking its first victory.

Packers dropped their third straight game on Friday, falling to Houston County 11-1 in five innings in Perry.

In addition to dropping the Packers to 1-2 in the Region 1-AAAAA standings, the loss leaves the Colquitt County at 5-11 for the season as they prepare to play host to Centennial High of Roswell at 1 p.m. today at Ike Aultman Field.

It has not been a good week for the Packers. They have been outscored 34-5 in three games this week and the last two have been cut short by the mercy rule.

Colquitt found itself down 11-0 after the first inning at Lee County on Wednesday and on Friday the Packers trailed 6-0 before their second at bat.

The Bears, now 2-1 in the region, scored six runs in the first inning off starter Andrew Wallace, despite managing just two hits.

“We booted it around a lot in that first inning,” Packers coach Jerry Croft said.

Houston added three runs in the second off Wallace and two in the fifth on a two-run double that invoked the mercy rule.

Wallace gave up nine runs and three hits, walked three and struck out four, including three in the second inning.

None of the runs he gave up was earned.

Matt Weaver pitched the final three innings.

“He was real solid for two innings,” Croft said.

The Packers scored their only run in the third when Wallace doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Carter Jones ground out.

Wallace and Weaver each had two of the Packers six hits. Chance Pitts and Scotty DeMott had the others.

Houston County had just seven hits.

“We just can’t keep going out and digging that big a hole to climb out of,” Croft said. “We’ve got to stay closer.”

The Packers will return to Region 1-AAAAA play on Tuesday when they travel to Noel George Field in Valdosta to meet Lowndes High.

The Vikings are the sole remaining unbeaten Region 1-AAAAA team after their 8-7 victory over Valdosta on Friday.

Lowndes went 5-4 in its first nine games this season, but now has won seven in a row and is 3-0 in the region.

Valdosta falls to 12-4 and is 2-1 in the region. Still, the Wildcats are off to a better start than the one in 2005 when they opened 12-2, then lost all 10 region games.

In Douglas on Friday, Tift County won its first region game, defeating Coffee 9-6.

Scott Shuman went the first five innings, before being relieved by Jacob Stinson.

Shuman returned to the mound in the bottom of the seventh to strike out the final Coffee batter with the bases loaded.

Shuman also homered and drove in three runs in the game, and Tift County sophomore catcher Christian Glisson had a three-RBI double.