Moore no-hits Valdosta in first game of region douleheader

Published 8:18 pm Friday, March 31, 2023

MOULTRIE – Last week, Lowndes scored 33 runs in a three-game Region 1-7A sweep of Colquitt County.

In the first game of a region doubleheader at Valdosta on Friday, Packers’ left-hander Mason Moore made sure Valdosta had no runs – and no hits – in the Packers’ 3-0 victory over the Wildcats in Valdosta.

With the program’s first no-hitter since 2017, the Packers need to win the second game to complete the series sweep and raise their region record to 5-4.

The Packers defeated Valdosta 4-1 on Tuesday.

The no-hitter is  the first for Colquitt County since Ethan Phillips held McEachern hitless in a 6-0 victory in Game 2 of the first-round doubleheader in the 2017 state playoffs.

The win sent the Packers on to the second round.

Both Moore and Phillips were juniors when they threw their gems.

Moore walked five batters, including two in the bottom of the seventh when Valdosta brought the potential game-tying run to the plate.

But Moore struck out the final two Wildcats to complete the rare no-hitter and get the Packers’ overall record up to 10-10.

Colquitt County got what proved to be the only run it would need in the first inning when Neko Fann opened the game with a single and scored on a Cam Cook base hit.

The Packers’ lead remained one run until Cook’s two-out double in the top of the seventh  drove in a pair of runs to give the Packers some insurance.

It was insurance that Colquitt would not need.

The Packers had six hits and Cook had three of them and drove in all three Colquitt County runs.

Fann had two singles and Jake Walker added a double.

This story will be updated.