Former Colquitt County pitcher Cole Pitts threw out the first pitch before the Packers' game against Thomas County Central on Wedneday. Pitts went 9-2 with a 1.92 ERA on the mound and led the team in batting while hitting 11 home runs in his senior season in 2011. He was selected to play for Junior Team Georgia and was the Most Valuable Pitcher in the Sunbelt Classic in McAlester, Okla. Pitts went on to pitch successfully at Georgia Tech.

MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County baseball team dropped a second-straight non-Region 1-7A game on Wednesday, losing to Thomas County Central 6-2 on Ike Aultman Field at Jerry Croft Stadium.

But the Packers did pick up a win when it was announced that Lowndes was forced to forfeit one of its two victories over the Packers on April 8 for a violation of the Georgia High School Association’s pitch-count policy.

Although the Vikings fall to 9-1 in the region standings heading into their regular-season final doubleheader against Camden County on Friday, the forfeit does not affect their region championship.

Colquitt County benefits as the forfeit raises its region record to 5-5 as it prepares to play host to Tift County on Friday.

Tift County and Camden County both have 3-7 region records.

The Packers will need to win just one of the two games on Friday to claim second place in the region and play host to a first-round state playoff series.

If Tift County sweeps and both team finish 5-7, the Blue Devils would claim second place, having won three of the four meetings between the two teams.

Colquitt and Tift split their doubleheader in Tifton on March 26, with Packers winning 4-2, but losing 8-5.

The state playoffs begin April 27-28.

The Lowndes violation apparently came in the second game of Lowndes-Colquitt County doubleheader won by the Vikings 5-1.

According to the GHSA constitution “A pitcher shall not throw more than 110 pitches (90 for sub-varsity) cumulative over a two-day period and cannot pitch more than two consecutive days. The rest period is based on the total pitches thrown during a given two-day period.

If a school is found to have violated any of the provisions of this policy, the offending school shall be fined $250 and the head coach at that level assessed a two-game suspension, and the game forfeited.”

For varsity pitchers, for 1-40 pitches, there is no rest period; for 41-60 pitches, the rest period is one day; 61-85 pitches, two days; 86-110 pitches, three days.

On Wednesday, Thomas County Central, which had already clinched the Region 1-AAAA championship, raised its record to 21-6 by scoring three runs in both the third and seventh innings.

Colquitt scored a run in the bottom of the first when Cannon Whatley led off the with a two-base hit and scored on a double to the fence in center by Cam Cook.

The Packers scored again in the bottom of sixth when Cook reached on a error and rode home on a double by Cole Whatley to pull to within a run at 3-2.

Mason Moore then singled to left and Landon Griffin, running for Cole Whatley, went to third.

Moore advanced to second on defensive indifference, giving the Packers runners at first and second with none out.

But Colquitt did not score again as Yellow Jackets reliever Ethan Barrett retired the next three batters in order.

After the Yellow Jackets added to their lead in the top of the seventh, Reid Harvey set the Packers down in order in the bottom of the inning to close it out.

Colquitt had just five hits. In addition to the doubles by the Whatleys and Cook, Moore had two singles.

Colquitt used seven pitchers, including Cameron Summerlin and Moore, who each went one inning.

The two are expected to start the two games against Tift County on Friday.

The Packers also used pitchers Kale Hopper, Tyler Owens, Cook Tompkins, Bryce Monk and Christian Hill as coach Brandon Brock gave some of his younger players a chance to perform.

Hopper and Owens are juniors. Tompkins and Hill are freshmen.