Colquitt County third baseman Julia Duncan leads the Lady Packers in home runs with six.

MOULTRIE — It was not a game that Colquitt County softball coach Chance Pitts looks back on fondly, but it is one that he hopes his team has learned from.

The Lady Packers are heading to GHSA’s eight-team Class 7A state championship that begins Thursday with a program-best 25-3 record.

One of those three losses came against the team that Lady Packers will open state tournament play against: North Gwinnett.

The Lady Bulldogs have one of the finest programs in the state and they head to Columbus with a 27-5-1 record and ranked No. 1 in Class 7A.

Colquitt and North Gwinnett met back on Sept. 4 in the Buccaneer Bash and the Lady Bulldogs came away with an 8-0 victory on a six-inning one-hitter by junior Amber Reed.

Pitts was asked if it was beneficial to have faced North Gwinnett already, especially having had such little success.

“Well, at least we know what they’ve got,” Pitts said.

North Gwinnett led just 2-0 before scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth and putting the game away with four more in the sixth.

Reed was the Georgia Dugout Club’s Class 7A Player of the Year in 2020 as a sophomore and has been dominant again this year.

She pitched both games when North Gwinnett swept Newnan  1-0 and 4-0 last week to qualify for Columbus.

She faced just 28 batters and allowed only one hit in the doubleheader.

North Gwinnett has won four state championships and has two more state runner-up finishes since 1985 while taking 14 region titles.

The Bulldogs were the state runners-up last fall and this year’s team is stocked with talent.

Pitts is not counting his team out, however.

The Lady Packers have won 17 of 18 games since being shut out by North Gwinnett. Eleven of those wins came via the run rule.

“We’ve matured a lot since then,” Pitts said, talking of that September loss. “I believe if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. You never know what can happen over there (in Columbus).”

Colquitt made its first trip to Columbus in 2019 and a number of the players on the current roster were on that team.

“I’m hoping that will play to our advantage,” Pitts said.

The Lady Packers have two pitchers who have been outstanding all season in the circle.

Junior Emily Allegood is 16-1 with a 2.10 ERA. She has struck out 86 batters in 93.1 innings.

Sophomore left-hander Maris Hopper is 9-1 and has a 2.47 ERA. In 68 innings, she has struck out 66 batters.

“She is really, really good, too,” Pitts said.

The Lady Packers will take a .375 team batting average into the tournament.

Allegood leads the team with a .484 batting average. She also leads the team in extra base hits, with 15, and runs batted in with 33.

Leadoff hitter Katlynn Powers, one of just three senior players, is hitting .477. She has seven doubles, a triple and 23 RBIs.

Catcher Madison Plymel is hitting .464 with a team-leading 10 doubles. She has a pair of triples and has driven in 31 runs.

The team leader in home runs is third baseman Julia Duncan.

The Lady Packers also start Morgan Holder at first base, Carli Pearson at second and Jacey Wetherington at shortstop. Senior Bre Caldwell starts in right field. When Allegood is pitching, Laura Hailey Bryan plays left and Powers is in center.

When Hopper pitches, Allegood moves to center field and Powers is in left.

Amber Brown, Kalise Richardson and Kaden Sutton round out the roster.

Pitts has a special feeling for the 2019 Lady Packers, the first to reach the Elite Eight, but concedes that this year’s team might have more fire power.

“And these girls love each other and love playing for each other,” Pitts said. “We are not a cocky team, but I think we have some quiet confidence. I just hope we can go up there and make some noise.”