MOULTRIE – Described by his coach as a “cage rat,” senior first baseman Jake Walker drove in two of Colquitt County’s three runs in a 3-2 Region 1-6A victory over Lowndes on Tuesday at Packer Park.
The win over the two-time defending state champions has the Packers sitting at 4-0 and atop the region standings.
They also are 7-6 overall, creeping above the .500 mark for the first time this season.
The win also vanquished a number of demons for the Colquitt County baseball program.
The Packers had lost 12 straight games to the Vikings since last winning 1-0 on March 12, 2021.
In the last two seasons, the Packers were shut out all six times they faced the Vikings, who went on to win state championships each year.
And although the Packers were coming off a three-game region sweep of Camden County – their first region sweep since 2017 – it was certainly not assured they could knock off one of the top programs in the state.
Before the series with Camden County, Colquitt had lost three of four.
But the Packers got solid pitching performances from starter Bowen DeRosso and reliever Bryce Roberts, who combined to allow just the two runs and seven hits. They also stranded seven base runners.
Roberts inherited a bases-loaded, no-out situation when he was summoned to relieve DeRosso in the fifth inning.
He gave up a sacrifice fly to Coleman Lewis to tie the game 2-2, but wriggled out of further trouble when the Vikings ran themselves into a double play to end the inning.
Then it was the Packers offense who got two big hits in the game-deciding bottom of the sixth.
Adam Beverly reached on an infield single to start the inning and stole second.
Two outs later, he was still at second when Walker stepped into the batter’s box.
Walker drove in Colquitt County’s first run in the second inning with a single to left that scored DeRosso.
When the ball got past Lowndes left fielder Tyler Parker, Roberts scored from first to put the Packers up 2-1.
Walker timed up a two-strike curveball for his first run-scoring hit.
He followed a similar course of action in the sixth, lacing another curve ball from Lowndes starter Brinson Rountree to the fence in right center to send Beverly scurrying home with the go-ahead run.
Roberts retired the Vikings in order in the top of the seventh to get the win.
“I just got in the box, cleared my head and got a pitch I liked,” Walker said of his sixth-inning at bat. “I knew I had to step up for the team.
“They mean so much to me. They are like my family.”
And while he had the hits that resulted in all three Colquitt County runs, Walker gave kudos to the Packers two sophomore pitchers.
“I was super proud of the way Bowen threw,” Walker said. “And then Bryce came in and shut the door.”
Packers coach Ryan Strickland smiled when asked about Walker’s clutch hitting, which raised his team-leading batting average to .457.
“He just wears me out,” said the Packers first-year coach said with a smile. “He’s here every Sunday. He stays after practice. He was here last night.
“He’s a ‘cage rat.’ And he’s reaping those rewards. This game rewards those who work hard.”
Strickland was pleased by the way his players did not let adversity during the game affect them as it often did earlier in the season.
They wasted a leadoff double by Rylan Howell in the third inning, had a runner picked off in the fourth and had two on with only one out in the fifth, but could not score.
“They’ve shown a lot of growth,” he said. “I like the way they responded to the negative things that happened during the game.”
And the Packers were able to take advantage of a pair of Lowndes miscues: the outfield error in the second that led to a run and a base runner getting doubled off first on a fly out in the fifth.
Rountree went the distance for the Vikings and gave up six hits.
He walked three batters. Two of them scored.
Roberts was resilient in relief for the Packers.
After giving up the sacrifice fly in the fifth, he issued a walk and gave up an infield hit with one out in the sixth, but retired the last two batters.
And in the seventh, he made short work of the top three hitters in the Lowndes batting order to close it out.
Walker and Howell each had two hits for the Packers. Beverly and Carter Summerlin had the others.
“This was a great team effort tonight,” Strickland said.
Also on Tuesday in the region, Valdosta defeated Camden County 9-2.
The series opener between Tift County and Richmond Hill was moved to Wednesday.