MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County softball team held off Mill Creek for eight innings in an elimination game in the Class 7A tournament at the South Commons Sports Complex on Friday, but could not fend off the Lady Hawks in the ninth.

Mill Creek scored three runs in the top of the ninth and the Lady Packers could not counter in the bottom half and fell 8-5.

Down 5-2, the Region 1 champions scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game and then held the Lady Hawks scoreless over the next three innings.

But Mill Creek’s 15-hit barrage finally took its toll in the second extra inning.

Mill Creek also won its next losers bracket game, eliminating Lambert 7-2.

The Lady Hawks will meet Cherokee in a losers bracket game on Saturday morning.

Colquitt County dropped its Elite Eight opener on Thursday, falling to No. 1-ranked North Gwinnett 8-0 and managing just one hit in the process.

The Lady Packers banged out nine hits against Mill Creek, including a home run by a Emily Allegood and a double by senior Katlynn Powers, who was playing her final game for the Lady Packers.

Powers drove in two runs.

Allegood and Madison Plymel each had two hits.

Powers, fellow senior Bre Caldwell, Morgan Holder, Jacey Wetherington and Kaden Sutton each had singles.

Allegood finished the season as the team’s leader in batting average, .475, runs batted, 31, and extra base hits, 18.

She also finished 16-3 with a 2.50 ERA as the team’s top pitcher.

The Lady Packers finish with a 25-5 record and won the region championship and reached the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons.

North Gwinnett and second-ranked and defending Class 7A state champion East Coweta remained unbeaten heading into Saturday’s final day of play.