Callie Faircloth made clutch hits in the seventh innings of both Colquitt County High softball games Thursday at Camden County.

KINGSLAND – Things are bunched up in the standings among the four teams that make up Region 1-7A softball. Colquitt County High’s Packers, ranked No. 5 by SCORE in Class 7A and 15-3, are still in first place, but by a mere half-game over the Lowndes Vikings.

The Camden County Wildcats and Lowndes got in four region games at the end of the week, but they lost three of them. After Thursday’s doubleheader split with Colquitt on its home field, Camden went to Lowndes and suffered a sweep at the hands of the Vikettes.

Lowndes jumped up the standings to 5-3 with Colquitt still on top at 5-2. That is going to either change or stay as it is this coming Thursday when the Packers play its road double-dip with the Vikettes in Valdosta. Colquitt already owns two victories against Lowndes at Packer Park.

All three games of the 2019 season between Colquitt and Camden were decided by one run, starting with Aug. 22 six-inning final of 3-2. There were no weather problems in Kingsland Thursday, and behind the complete-game pitching of Jade Horne Colquitt took Game 1 4-3.

Though the Wildcats out-hit the Packers 8 to 4, coach Chance Pitts said Horne battled her way out of numerous jams.

But Camden did tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth. Callie Faircloth led off the top of the seventh with a base hit, and Abeny Thomas’ bunt moved her all the way to third. Faircloth scored on Abby Plymel’s sacrifice fly, and that was Plymel’s third RBI of the contest.

In Game 2, most of the scoring took place early, and the Wildcats were ahead 5-2 after four innings.

“They had timely hitting,” said Pitts. “We had runners in the fourth through sixth but couldn’t scratch them in.”

In the seventh, Faircloth’s extra-base hit helped the Packers score two times. The tying and go-ahead runs were in scoring position, but a check-swing pop-up ended it as a 5-4 Camden victory.

Pitts credited Kyla Morris with shut-down relief pitching.

“We could have rolled over, but we made it a game,” said Pitts. “We are probably three or four hits away from being unbeaten.”

Camden is 3-4 in the region and Tift County, after two losses to Lowndes Thursday, is 2-6.