By Matthew Brown

matthew.brown@gaflnews.com

MOULTRIE – It’s not free baseball, but Game 3 baseball.

Today at 4 p.m., Colquitt County High hosts Etowah High in a deciding contest of their GHSA 7A playoff series on Ike Aultman Field at Jerry Croft Stadium. The Packers and the defending 7A champion Eagles from Woodstock split a doubleheader Thursday. This series winner goes on to the quarterfinals, or Elite 8, to face Parkview High next week.

Colquitt took the opening tilt in convincing fashion 6-2, but Etowah had a counter on the pitching mound that silenced Packer bats to the tune of a 5-0 shutout.

Game 1

For what will go down as the game-winning run, there may have been some dispute by the Eagles. There was no disputing how the Packers added to their 2-1 lead after the third inning.

As always, Cory Newsome went the distance on the mound to win Game 1. And as usual, he let his defense do a lot of work getting Etowah hitters out. Five of the first six outs were on fly balls. There were only four hits by Etowah, and one of those was a long home run in the seventh inning by Bryant Madden. In the infield, both Raines Plant at third base and Gavin Patel at shortstop turned double plays to end Eagle turns at bat. There were a couple of more baseballs in the air chased down by Tucker Hathcock in right field.

Colquitt struck first at the plate. All game long, Tony Kirkland’s charges took advantage of base runners and the numerous ways to move those runners over one bag. The Eagles helped with some shaky play with the gloves.

Patel led off the game drawing a walk and Dylan Dalton singled up the middle. With Plant at the plate and running up a full count against pitcher Andy Shaw, Patel moved to third base on a passed ball. The senior scored the run even as Plant hit into a double play.

Etowah turned a leadoff double in the top of the third into the tying run. This Eagle was on third base from a sacrifice, and umpires later ruled a balk to plate the tying run. Newsome pitched out of the inning with one of his rare strikeouts, so the potential go-ahead run stayed on third.

As for the controversy of the contest, that was in the bottom of the third and Plant was on base from his single. With two outs, Hathcock singled to left extending the turn for designated hitter J.T. Whatley. His grounder went to the third baseman, but the ruling was he never touched the base. The Eagle representatives appealed to no avail.

The Packers continued hitting with runners everywhere, but hitting wasn’t really needed as JC Harden drew a walk.

No arguments, however, were needed when Colquitt scored three runs in the fifth.

Plant found himself in the middle of another rally – the beginning, actually as he led things off singling. He took second on a wild pitch, and the next pitch gave Hathcock an RBI. After the hit, Hathcock stole his way to scoring position. With two down, Harden reached on a fielding error.

They were on second and third, then catcher Mack Crosby ripped a two-run hit for 5-1 Packers.

Patel had the only hit and scored the only run of the home sixth. This inning featured another crucial error in the infield, and the shortstop scored on a wild pitch with two outs.

Colquitt left nine runners on base.

Game 2

Nick Torres’ game for Etowah in the nightcap wasn’t to blow people away. He only struck out two Colquitt hitters and he scattered five hits – no more than one in any frame – walked one and, perhaps more importantly to the Eagle coaches, no errors from the defense. In fact, it was Etowah turning double plays to end two of the seven innings.

Torres also kept his pitch count in the 60s.

Plant continued to swing well as he doubled twice. Patel and Harden each had infield safeties.

Dylan Collins went the distance for Colquitt and struck out eight with one walk. Etowah, though, had extra-base hitting working well all game and staked a 2-0 lead after one inning. The Eagles played as the ‘home’ team on the scoreboard, and in the last half of the first they had three hits.

Jackson Sisk led off with a single and scored on a ground out. Weston Campbell then doubled with the bases empty and two down, then he touched home on Madden’s 0-2 single.

Collins pitched four straight shutout innings despite giving up two doubles, but Conor Bowen led off the home sixth reaching on an infield hit. Campbell followed his team’s second successful sacrifice driving home the run on a hit.

When Madden drew the only walk, Jacob Lafevers made it 4-0 on a single. Madden scored on a wild pitch.