MOULTRIE – That team can hit, and hit any way possible, and can even find spots to get those hits that no one else can seem to find.

Lowndes High softball, ranked No. 5 in Class 7A, hit four home runs to score 22 times in Thursday’s Region 1-7A doubleheader against the Colquitt County High Packers at Packer Park. It didn’t help Colquitt’s cause that Lowndes featured perhaps the state’s best player, not only from the plate but a pitcher who allowed no runs, struck out 11 and surrendered just one hit in eight innings covering two softball games.

With the sweep of Colquitt 14-0 and 8-0, the Vikettes improved to 4-0 in the region while the Packers slipped to 2-2. It will be Colquitt’s goal now to stay in second place when facing Tift County High on the road Wednesday to close out the regular season.

Rylin Hedgecock, planning to attend the University of Arkansas, retired all 12 batters she faced in four innings to win Game 1 14-0. She struck out six, and then drove in more runs than that using her own stick. With two home runs – including a first-pitch second-inning grand slam – Hedgecock recorded seven RBI.

Hedgecock, seemingly effortlessly, sailed the softball over the fence in left field during the first inning with two teammates on base. One was lead-off batter Jacie Johns, who reached base all three times she appeared.

That was it for the first inning, Lowndes leading 3-0, but when the lineup turned back over in the second the visitors piled on six more runs. With one out, Kayden Dickey – at No. 9 in the order – hit a ball that took a really bad hop for Colquitt’s sake into centerfield. The result was a double.

Johns followed with a single, and shortstop Madison May walked to load the bases. Catcher Sophie Sumner drove in one reaching on an infield single. Even after a meeting among the Packers in the circle, Hedgecock – again without much effort and only needing to see one pitch – made it an 8-0 game.

The inning ended with Lowndes ripping four more hits to score one more time. Joiner Merritt’s single gave them nine runs on nine hits.

May doubled for an RBI and Sumner homered for three in a four-run Vikette third inning. This was not a good one for Colquitt in another way as relief pitcher and senior Kelli Johnson suffered a knee injury while delivering the ball.

Even in making substitutions Lowndes continued to score, three pinch-hits for one run in the top of the fourth. In all, it was a total of 14 safeties, again matching their run production.

Game 2 went a little further, an 8-0 final in five frames with Lowndes playing as the home team. Hedgecock pitched four more frames and got touched for a first-inning double by Packer shortstop Kelsey Patel. Two other Packers reached base on her, but nobody came close to returning to home plate until Lowndes used a second pitcher, Jolee Camp, in the top of the fifth.

The scoring by the Vikettes was more spread out as starting pitcher Jade Horne recorded two outs in the first inning on full-count pitches. One of those was a line drive off May’s bat into Abby Plymel’s glove at third base.

Then Sumner singled and Hedgecock was given first base. Tori Hedgecock, after a two-hit game to start the day, singled in the first run. That was it for the inning as Horne caught Lexi Metts looking for her second strikeout.

Horne got out of the second still down 1-0 when Abeny Thomas finally kept a ball in the infield for the first out and Chloe Gould – with two runners on base via walks – caught May’s deep fly at the centerfield wall.

Sumner would lead off the home third going deep. Two more Vikettes reached – including Tori Hedgecock on her fourth hit of the day – and both came around to make it 4-0.

That was followed by a four-run fourth highlighted by May’s deep two-run home run to left.

Hope Hobbs gave Colquitt only its second hit of the afternoon leading off the top of the fifth against Camp. Even with May’s second error of Game 2 helping fill the bases, the Packers could not end the day-long shutout.