MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County baseball team finished its first month of practice under new head coach Ryan Strickland by winning three of four games at a camp at Auburn University.

The wins included a pair of shutouts, one of which was a five-inning perfect game on Friday, and an offense that featured six home runs.

“I thought we played really well,” said Strickland, who was named as Colquitt County’s sixth head coach in late May. “We mixed our lineups and defenses to get a feel for where we are. and it was important for us to get in some game situations.”

The way the Packers hit the ball was gratifying, Strickland said, “especially to do it against some of the arms we saw.”

Colquitt lost its opener on Wednesday, falling 4-3 to the team from Kickapoo High School of Springfield, Missouri.

Bowen DeRosso and Adam Beverly did the pitching in a game in which the Packers were unable to convert some scoring opportunities.

“We had some situations that we learned from,” Strickland said.

In their first game on Thursday, a 4-0 victory over Oconee County, the Packers got some strong work on the mound from Christian Hill, a rising senior who did not play last season.

“And we got hits from six different players,” Strickland said.

Also on Thursday, Colquitt pounded out 15 hits in three innings in a 13-3 win over Berrien County.

Among the hits were home runs by Brady DeRosso, Jake Walker, Adam Beverly and Jaxon Chambers.

That effort earned the Packers some praise from members of the Auburn coaching staff.

On Friday, before the team returned to Moultrie, Gabe Eubanks, Owen Bennett and Chambers combined on a five-inning perfect game.

Eubanks and Bennett each pitched two innings and Chambers finished up.

The Packers got home runs at Auburn’s Plainsmen Field from Carter Summerlin and Bowen DeRosso.

“And we had some other hard-hit balls up and down the lineup,” Strickland said.

The Packers will return to work after the GHSA-mandated July 1-7 dead week.

The rest of the summer will focus on weight room sessions.

“We feel good right now about where our offense and defense are and when we get back we are going to go back to work on making progress with our pitchers,” Strickland said.

The Colquitt County baseball team went 14-17 last spring in a season in which Brandon Brock stepped down as head coach on March 28 after 21 games.

Chance Pitts led the Packers over the final 10 games.

Since going 23-11 in 2018, Colquitt County has had just one winning season.

Strickland was the head coach at Thomas County Central the past seven seasons, posing a 141-86 record that included four trips to the state’s Elite Eight, including the last three years in a row.

He had previously been a Colquitt County assistant coach from 2013-2015 and was an assistant at TCC for two before taking over the head coaching job in 2018.

Strickland has announced a Colquitt County Summer Middle School Academy for players who will be in grades 6 through 8.

Those interested should report to Ike Aultman Field at Jerry Croft Stadium at 5:45 p.m. on Friday, July 12, for evaluations.

The session is scheduled to last until 8 p.m. –on July 15, 19, 22, 26 and 29.

The cost is $100.

Sessions will include drills and practices modeled after those in the Colquitt County varsity training program.

According to information on the Colquitt County Baseball Facebook page, “This is not a camp, but is a baseball experience for players with serious aspirations in their baseball career — aspirations to play high school and beyond.”

“I am really looking forward to getting to know those guys,” Strickland said.

More information about the Summer Academy is available on the Colquitt County Baseball Facebook page.

Also, Thomas County Central has hired former Coffee High head baseball coach Sy Jones to replace Strickland.

Jones has 16 years experience as a head coach, including the last seven seasons at Coffee.

He has an overall record of 120-88.

The Trojans went 27-7 last season.