Diamond Pack to face Houston

Published 10:30 pm Thursday, April 27, 2006

MOULTRIE — Two games out fourth place in Region 1-AAAAA with just three to play makes the Colquitt County High baseball team’s meeting with Houston County tonight a critical one.

The Bears will pull into Ike Aultman Field for the 7 p.m. game with a 4-3 record, but smarting from a 6-0 shutout at the hands of Tift County on Tuesday.

The Packers are 7-14-1 overall and 2-5 in region and their playoff hopes took another blow on Tuesday when they were defeated 8-1 by Valdosta.

The Packers have scored just two runs in their last two games, including a 2-1 loss to Tift County last Friday.

And they are expected to face one of the top pitchers in the region tonight in Houston County’s Brian Wilkerson.

The reigning Region 1-AAAAA Player of the Year, who was 8-2 with a 1.09 ERA and 87 strikeouts last year, will bring a 7-1 record to Moultrie tonight.

In his last outing, the 6-foot-3, 180-pounder struck out 12 in the Bears 6-1 victory over Lowndes.

Houston was not the same team without Wilkerson on the mound on Tuesday.

Tift County raked Chase Brown, who went the distance, for six runs, including five earned, and 11 hits.

Among the hits was a three-run homer by the Blue Devils Scott Shuman.

The Bears had some difficulty at the plate on Tuesday against Jacob Stinson. Brown went 2-for-3 with a double, but was the only Bear with more than one hit. Joe Vasquez, Ryan Beitler and Mark Irwin had the other hits.

The Packers need to play better than when the two teams met in Warner Robins three weeks ago.

The Bears won 11-1 in a game that lasted just five innings.

Also tonight, No. 1 Valdosta will play host to No. 2 Lowndes and Tift County will try to clinch a playoff berth at home against Coffee.