MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County A all-stars hit five home runs in their first three game of the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association’s 12-and-under sub-District III baseball tournament and nearly matched that total in the first two innings of the championship game on Thursday.

Colquitt County A hit one homer in the first inning and three more in the second to defeat Colquitt County Black 13-0 in 3 1/2 innings at the Magnolia Sports Complex in the first of three steps toward a possible state championship.

Colquitt County A all-stars will now rest up until 5:30 p.m. Monday when they play the winner of the sub-District III tournament being played in Cairo in a doubleheader at the Magnola Complex to open the best-of-3 series for the district championship. The series winner will advance to the state tournament, which will be held in Lyons.

The A all-stars were hardly challenged in the sub-district, allowing just two runs in four games while scoring 42.

Colquitt County Black had two win two games and played until after 10 p.m. on Wednesday to reach the championship game.

Black put together back-to-back, one-out singles by Wade Hawes and Dalton Dillon in the first inning, but A’s starter Austin Mercer fanned the next two batters to end that threat, then struck out the side in the second.

When Andy Bush took over on the mound to start the third, he inherited a 12-0 lead and gave up just a single to Austin Hunnicutt in the fourth.

Mercer and Bush had plenty of offensive support, although Dillon, the Colquitt County Black starter, struck out the first two A all-star batters to open the game.

But John Gray, the third A all-star batter, rifled a homer to left, Clayton Brown singled and Preston Berry doubled to put A’s up 2-0.

The A’s poured it on in the second, sending 14 batters to the plate. The first 12 reached.

Jonah Bozeman walked to open the inning and Tony Simpson followed with a home run to center field to make it 4-0.

After Gabe Mobley reached on an error and Drew Penuel singled to center, Mack Hathcock swatted an opposite-field homer to left to make it 7-0.

Daniel Mobley was hit by a pitch and scored on a double by Gray.

Brown then hit the next pitch over the center field fence for the A’s third homer of the inning and a 10-0 lead.

Berry followed with his second straight double and Mercer singled him to third.

Berry and Mercer scored the final two runs of the inning on Bozeman’s double.

The A’s got their 13th run in the bottom of the third with Berry singling in Hathcock, who had reached on a base hit to open the inning.

The A’s had 16 hits in the three innings. Brown had three and Hathcock, Gray, Berry and Simpson each had two.

Bush, Mercer, Bozeman, Penuel and Colby Reneker had the others.

Gray and Hathcock led the team in the tournament with seven hits each. Brown had six hits and Berry and Bozeman each had five. The team spread its nine tournament homers around. Gray had two and Brown, Berry, Mercer, Bozeman, Simpson and Daniel Mobley had the others.