MOULTRIE – The exuberance shown by junior Turner Sircy after recording his first varsity save was likely shared by all of his Colquitt County High baseball teammates. A Packer team that had gone a perfect 4-0 to start the 2018 season found itself wondering if it remembered how to win games when clubs from Alabama and Florida converged on Ike Aultman Field at Jerry Croft Stadium for the weekend.

That unbeaten start ended Friday when Russell County of Alabama scored one unearned run in the top of the seventh to take a 3-2 victory. On Saturday morning, only one run scored between Colquitt County and Clay High of Florida, and Clay got credit for that point.

In both of those games, Cory Newsome (Russell) and Ethan Phillips (Clay) pitched complete games for head coach Tony Kirkland.

Returning to the field immediately after the Clay loss, Colquitt County got a deep RBI double from senior infielder Raines Plant to break a 1-1 tie, and Dylan Collins struck out 12 batters while pitching into the sixth inning. Catcher Callon Kubiak batted home an insurance run, and with Sircy’s save the Packers were back in the win column 3-2. That was against Florida’s defending Class 8 champions Lincoln High of Tallahassee (interesting to note, the Florida baseball playoffs are not done in series but single-game elimination, and Lincoln only gave up two runs in five postseason games).

Collins, a left-handed senior, matched up with Lincoln junior Nick Ferrara for what was four innings of mound majesty between them. Colquitt, though, was the only team with base hits through two innings, Gavin Patel leading off the first going up the middle and Dylan Dalton pulling the ball with two outs in the second. Lincoln evened up the baserunners in the top of the third on one hit and one walk. Collins left them in scoring position.

The strikeout total for Collins was up to seven after four complete – Patel backing him up taking a grounder just behind the mound – and the Packer offense found a way back around to home plate for the first time Saturday. Ferrara himself recorded five strikeouts, but with two outs in the home fourth designated hitter Tucker Buckner singled. Dalton – moved down in the order – reached base for the second time to bring up Phillips, playing first base.

On an 0-2 pitch, Ferrara’s curve did not break, so Phillips took one for the team to load all the bags. One wild pitch later, and Colquitt County was on top 1-0.

But that’s how Lincoln would tie the score finally getting to Collins in the top of the fifth. It started with a tough error in the infield and concluded three wild pitches, one coming on the eighth whiff from Collins. There were no outs with the game 1-1, but Collins struck out two more to keep their go-ahead run on third base.

It was against new pitcher Chad Corriveau that the Packers strung together their best turn of the day. Patel led off with his second single, and No. 2 hitter Tucker Hathcock sacrificed him to second. Plant, who had a double in the Russell game Friday, went to the right-center gap for the tie breaking RBI.

Tanner Wilson did a sacrifice job grounding out to advance Plant, and he scored as Kubiak hit a tough grounder that ate up the visiting shortstop.

In the top of the sixth, Collins struck out two more but also surrendered two hits. Wilson made a diving effort for a catch in center but could not hold on, and with two outs Lincoln hit a grounder requiring a long throw that got away from Phillips at first on a hop.

With the score becoming 3-2, Kirkland went to Sircy in relief. He coaxed a grounder to Plant at third, and his long throw ended the inning.

In the seventh, Lincoln’s Josiah Miller – 0-for-3 vs. Collins as the No. 1 hitter – doubled with two outs. He was on third via a wild pitch, and the left-handed Sircy faced lefty DH Myles Moreland. It was an adventurous ball hit in front of the mound, but the pitcher made the play in plenty of time to celebrate.

In the loss to Clay, both teams had just three hits (Patel, Hathcock and Wilson for Colquitt). Phillips struck out three facing 24 hitters, and the run scored in the sixth.

The Packers out-hit Russell County Friday 7 to 2, but one of the Russell hits was a Zac Faulk two-run home run. Plant had two hits in all, Dalton drove in both runs and Newsome struck out three on the mound.

Colquitt County will take a 5-2 record into back-to-back home games at Jerry Croft Stadium this week against clubs that went deep in the 2017 state playoffs. The Packers host 6A semifinalist Lee County (remember all the controversy from the John’s Creek series?) at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday and AA champion Jeff Davis at 6 Wednesday.