MOULTRIE — Colquitt County’s softball victories over Tift County have been few and far between, so Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Lady Devils was particularly gratifying.

And it was even sweeter since it came on the heels of the Lady Packers poor performance on the second day of the Georgia Leadoff Classic in which they lost three straight games, committing 12 errors in the process.And the victory also enables Colquitt County to sit atop the Region 1-AAAAA standings for at least two days.

The Lady Packers scored all three runs on a two-out, base’s loaded double by Tiffany Troupe in the first inning, then held off a Tift County rally in the top of the seventh.

The victory evens the Lady Packers record at 3-3. Tift County falls to 1-2. The game was the Region 1-AAAAA opener for each team.

Colquitt had not defeated Tift County since Oct. 2, 2003, when senior Renee Huckaby hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh for 3-2 Lady Packers victory.

Tift had defeated the Lady Packers four straight times in close games since.

This time the Lady Packers were able to get the close win, combining the clutch hit by Troupe, fine pitching by Leigh Norman and solid defense.

Those were the ingredients the Lady Packers were missing on Saturday in losses to Bainbridge, Glynn Academy and Lee County in Thomasville.

“Wow,” Lady Packers coach Carman Phillips said after the game. “At practice Monday, we talked about the mistakes we made Saturday and I told them we weren’t going to talk about them anymore.

“But our spirits were good today. We ran the bases well and played good defense. I am really proud of them.”

Through the first five innings, Norman was in complete control, giving up just two singles and stranding both runners.

But in the sixth, Tift County’s Kendall Couch reached on an error and moved to second when she beat the throw on Kelly Redlinger’s grounder to short.

Kelly Dill then followed with a fly ball to right. Ashley Everett did not hesitate after making the putout, firing a strike to Lunden Connell at third to retire Couch and the side.

“That’s why we have her out there,” Phillips said of Everett. “She’s got a really strong arm.”

The play loomed even larger when Tift County scored twice in the bottom of the seventh.

Rebecca Johnson led off the inning with a single to left and moved to second on Krysten Mangham’s ground out.

An infield error allowed Johnson to score and left Kadie Moretz at second.

Moretz moved to third on a single by Alli Parrish and scored on a sacrifice fly by Rachel Segers.

But with the tying run on second, Norman got Haley Janousek to ground out to end the game.

Norman allowed just four hits and no walks. She struck out one.

Segers, the Lady Devils sophomore right-hander, was the hard-luck loser.

After the three-run first inning, she allowed just two hits and three base runners the rest of the way. She finished with four strikeouts and one costly base on balls.

She pitched around a leadoff triple by Colquitt County’s Nikki Hudson in the third inning, retiring the next three Lady Packers in order.

But Segers could not get out of the first inning jam.

Lunden Connell got a one-out single to right to start the rally and Everett followed with an infield hit.

Morgan Jones grounded to Dill at short,who threw to Johnson at third to force Connell.

But Segers then walked Ashley Chafin to load the bases. Troupe followed with a fly ball over the head of Moretz in center field.

Moretz retrieved the ball and got it in to Dill, whose throw to third cut down Troupe, who was trying for a triple.

But the home plate umpire ruled Chafin had scored before the out was made at third and the Lady Packers had a 3-0 lead.

And that’s all Colquitt County needed.

“We can’t put runners on base and expect them to go away,” Tift County coach Ivey Vickers said. “You can’t wait until the last inning to start playing.”

Tift County’s four hits were by Dill, Johnson, Moretz and Parrish.

Colquitt had five hits. Connell had two singles, Hudson the triple, Troupe the double and Everett the first-inning single.

Tift County opened the season with a 4-2 loss to Rutland High, but had rebounded to knock off Berrien last Thursday 4-0.

The next Region 1-AAAAA game for the Lady Devils will be Thursday, Aug. 31, at home against Lowndes.

Colquitt County will travel to Lowndes for a region game on Thursday.

The Packers also will play in the Fourth Annual Lady Trojans Invitational on Saturday at Faircloth Field in Douglas.

The Lady Packers will meet Telfair County at 9:30 a.m.; Coffee at 11 a.m. and Camden County at 2 p.m. in pool play.

A single-elimination tournament will follow pool play.

Ware County, Berrien, Valdosta and Pierce County are in the other pool.

Tift County won the junior varsity game 7-3. Brooke Hood and Kaley Clark each had two hits. Jana Harvin had one.