Colquitt County senior shortstop Jacey Wetherington squares one up in the Region 1-7A champion Lady Packers’ sweep of Richmond Hill on Thursday.

MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County softball secured the Region 1-7A championship by defeating Richmond Hill 16-8 in five innings in the first game of their doubleheader on Thursday at Packer Park.

The Lady Packers, ranked No. 7 in Class 7A, then completed the sweep with a 12-1 victory in the nightcap.

The region title will enable the Lady Packers to host one of eight Super Regionals that will determine the teams that will travel to Columbus on Oct. 26-29 to battle for the state championship.

The four-team double-elimination Super Regional that the Lady Packers will host will be played on October 20-21 at Packer Park.

Colquitt County coach Chance Pitts said he expects his team to face Westlake, the No. 4 team from Region 2, in its first game.

Brookwood is expected to be the No. 2 team from Region 4 and will likely face Hillgrove, the No. 3 team from Region 3.

If the Lady Packers can survive, they will travel to play in Columbus for the third time in the last four years.

Colquitt did not win a game in either of its two other appearances in the state tournament.

With the doubleheader sweep of Richmond Hill, the Lady Packers finish 11-1 in the region, with just a 7-6 loss to Lowndes to mar the record.

The win in game two also enabled the Lady Packers to reach 20 wins for the third time in four years.

Colquitt will take a 20-3 record into Monday’s 5:30 p.m. non-region game at Tift County.

The Lady Packers will conclude the regular season with a 5:30 p.m. game on Tuesday, October 11, against Berrien at Packer Park.

While the Colquitt girls run-ruled the Lady Wildcats in both games on Thursday, they let a 9-1 lead slip away when Richmond Hill scored seven runs in the top of the third inning to briefly pull to within a run in Game 1.

The Lady Packers quickly dashed whatever hopes the big inning might have given Richmond Hill by scoring three runs in the bottom of the third and four more in the fourth.

Emily Allegood had an uncharacteristically erratic start to the third inning, walking a batter, hitting two others with pitches and allowing three hits before striking out the final three Lady Wildcats in a row and retiring nine of the last 10 batters she faced in the game.

The Lady Packers also made two errors behind her in the third.

Allegood allowed five hits, two of which did not leave the infield, and struck out 11 to raise her record to 16-2.

Colquitt scored in each of the four innings in Game 1, including pushing across seven runs in the first.

The Lady Packers banged out nine hits in their four innings with Morgan Holder collecting a double and two singles.

Laura Hailey Bryan had two hits and Carli Pearson, Madison Plymel, Julia Duncan and RaJayla McBride each had one.

Duncan drove in three runs.

“That game scared me a little … that third inning,” coach Chance Pitts said. “I’m just glad how we responded.”

Maris Hopper went the distance in the circle for the Lady Packers in Game 2, giving up just the one run on three hits. She walked just one batter and struck out seven.

Duncan had three hits including a double in the second game.

Holder had two more hits, giving her five for the two games.

Allegood also had two hits in the nightcap. Plymel, Hopper, Bryan and McBride had three.

McBride drove in three runs.