MOULTRIE — A combination of outstanding pitching by Andrew Wallace and a much-needed shower enabled the Colquitt County baseball to win the second game of its playoff-opening doubleheader at Newnan on Friday, setting a rubber game at 1 p.m. today.

Newnan won Friday’s first game 5-1 and had pulled to within a run of Packers at 2-1 in the top of the sixth when a gully-washer hit Joe Pope Field at Newnan High.

After an hour, the umpires declared the field unplayable and the game reverted back to the fifth inning, after which the Packers held a 2-0 lead.

Colquitt got the rain-shortened victory and will send sophomore John Michael Harrison to the mound today to try to clinch the series.

The winner of today’s game will advance to meet the Redan-Johnson of Savannah winner.

Also on Friday, Region 1-AAAAA champion Lowndes advanced, sweeping Mundy’s Mill 10-4 and 8-7.

Region 1 runner-up Coffee split its opening doubleheader with Hiram, winning the first game 11-4, but dropping the nightcap 2-0.

That series, too, will be decided by a single game today.

Valdosta, Region 1’s No. 4 team, won its first game 7-3 over Region 4 champion East Coweta, but the second game was rained out. The two teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. today.

The Packers, the No. 3 team from Region 1-AAAAA, scored just three runs on Friday — and left the bases full four times — but managed to escape with a sweep.

Colquitt got the two runs it needed in the nightcap after two were out in the bottom of the second inning.

Javaris Jackson started the rally with an infield hit.

Harrison followed with a single to right sending Jackson to third.

Jackson scored the first run on a wild pitch. And after Harrison stole second and Blake Cato reached first on a wild pitch while striking out, Andrew Wallace singled Harrison home.

As the storm moved closer, Newnan, down 2-0, rallied in the top of the sixth.

George Grote singled and scored when the Packers made two errors on a ground ball hit by Ryan Phillips.

But after Austin McKinney was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with just one out, the storm hit and inundated the field.

Although McDowell was in trouble in the sixth, he had cruised through the first five innings, allowing no runs and two hits.

The junior left-hander faced his biggest challenge in the first when Grote tripled with one out.

But McDowell fanned Jessie Werzbiki and got cleanup hitter Phillips to fly to center field.

McDowell walked opposing pitcher Thomas Darrah to open the third, but after Zack Clark sacrificed Darrah to second, the next two batters flied out to right.

McDowell walked Kevin Dunn to open the fifth, but then enticed Jarred Jackson to ground into a 6-4-3 double play started on a great effort by Cato.

Darrah followed with a double and Clark walked, but again McDowell wriggled free, retiring Richard Warren on a comebacker.

Although the Packers scored just two runs in the five innings of the second game, they had six hits, had another batter walk, two more reach on errors and two others reach on wild pitches after striking out.

Colquitt loaded the bases in the first and fifth innings with one out, but could not score.

Wallace and Jackson each had two hits in the second game. Harrison and Tyler Perryman had the others.

The Packers had chances to make a game out of the opener, but left the bases loaded in both the second and third innings.

The Cougars, who took a 20-6 record into the doubleheader, led the first game 2-1 when they got four straight one-out hits off Packers starter Andrew Wallace in the fifth inning and broke the game open.

Wallace pitched six innings, giving up just three earned runs and six hits. He struck out eight, but did not get much run support.

Colquitt’s only run scored in the third when, after Grote, the Newnan starter, walked the bases full, Perryman singled to right, driving in Cato.

Grote went the first five innings to get the win. He gave up just three hits, but stayed in trouble by issuing seven bases on balls.

But he picked a runner off first and got a double play to help him ease out of danger.

Newnan’s Chris Barnett pitched the final two innings, giving up just an infield hit to Harrison.

Harrison, Cato, Perryman and McDowell had the Colquitt County hits.