Diamond Pack drops two in Georgia-Florida Classic

Published 10:27 am Monday, February 26, 2024

MOULTRIE — After a two-run rally in their last at bat to defeat Cairo on Wednesday, the Colquitt County baseball team dropped two straight games over the weekend in the Georgia-Florida Classic.

Mason Moore had hit two triples in a game two years ago against Tift County, but he hit three against Cairo, including the last one that drove in the winning runs in a 6-4 victory over the Syrupmakers.

A night after the Packers dropped a 4-2 decision to Coffee High in Douglas, the Packers right-fielder said the comeback win over the Syrupmakers a significant one.

“I feel like we really needed this one,” Moore said after the Packers raised their record to 4-2. “We’ve got two good teams coming in here Friday and Saturday so this was a big win for us.”

The Packers trailed the Syrupmakers 4-3 when Tyson Hobby led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to right off Cairo relief pitcher Cannon Maige.

It appeared the Packers wasted the leadoff hit when Maige struck out the next two batters.

But Hayden Hembree kept the inning alive by drawing a walk.

That brought to the plate freshman second baseman Bryce Roberts, who waited until the sixth pitch he saw from Maige to rip a single to right to score Hobby with the the tying run.

Moore followed with his third fly ball over the head of Syrupmaker center fielder Elijah Anderson.

By the time Cairo got the ball back to the infield, two runs had crossed the plate, the Packers had their first lead since the first inning and Moore was ensconced on third for the third time.

On Friday at Packer Park, Creekside scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the Packers 7-2 in a Georgia-Florida Classic game.

Neither the Packers nor their visitors from St. Johns, Fla., led by more than a run until the top of the ninth.

But two Packer errors and a double by Connor Balazic led to the five unearned Creekside runs.

The Packers managed just six hits, including a leadoff single by Jake Walker in the bottom of the ninth.

But a double play and a strikeout ended the night for the Packers.

The Knights had several opportunities to put the Packers away in the first seven innings, but waited until the ninth to secure the win.

Creekside scored in the top of the first on a delayed double steal and threatened in the fourth with a pair of two-out singles that Packers freshman starter Bowen DeRosso pitched around.

Colquitt got both of its runs in the fifth.

Hembree reached on a one-out error, but was erased when Roberts bounced into a fielder’s choice.

Mason Moore then doubled to right to drive home Roberts and went to third on the throw to the plate.

Moore scored on a wild pitch to put the Packers up 2-1.

DeRosso got into immediate trouble in the top of the sixth when Ty Martineau reached on an infield single and Carson McFarlin was hit by a pitch.

Logan Plymel was summoned from the bullpen and got Michael Bysheim to bunt into a force out at third base.

Adam Harvey followed with a double to left that scored McFarlin to tie the game and sent Bysheim to third.

With Gavin Strump batting, Bysheim broke for the plate and was retired in a rundown.

Plymel then got Strump to fly out to end the inning, leaving Harvey stranded on third and the score tied 2-2.

On a sunny, but blustery Saturday on Ike Aultman Field at Jerry Croft Stadium, St. John Neumann High of Naples, Fla., pounded Colquitt County 10-2 in the Packers’ second game of the Georgia-Florida Classic.

The Celtics scored runs in five of the seven innings and rapped out 11 hits.

The Packers, who fall 4-4, had seven hits, but stranded eight runners.

Roberts had two hits and scored two runs. He is hitting .367 after his first eight varsity games.

Catcher Carter Summerlin, another freshman, got his first varsity hit, a single to left to lead off the fifth inning.

Cayden Parker, Davis Lightsey, Brady DeRosso and Jake Walker had the other Colquitt County hits.

Colquitt County will face Lee County at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Packer Park.