MOULTRIE – MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County eighth-grade baseball team had few good swings – and just two base runners – over the first three innings of the South Georgia Athletic Conference tournament championship game against Valdosta Middle School on Friday.

But the Packers erupted for 10 runs and nine hits – including three doubles, a triple and a home run – over their final three at bats to defeat the Wildcats 10-2 and claim the title in front of their home fans at Packer Park.

The eighth-grade Packers finish the season with a 19-4 record and had split their two previous meetings with Valdosta.

Colquitt found itself trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.

Packers coach Aaron Eubanks said Valdosta went out with a sound game plan.

“They knew we were aggressive at the plate, and their guy threw off-speed stuff and hit his spots,” Eubanks. “But kudos to these guys for trusting our approach and sticking with it. They made it happen late in the game.”

That trust began to pay off in the bottom of the fourth when catcher Cannon Whatley singled for the first of his three hits.

He promptly stole second base and scored to tie the game 1-1 when Pershaun Fann rifled a single to center.

One out later, Steven Spradley tripled to score Fann and give the Packers the lead. Spradley made it 3-1 when he crossed the plate on a two-out single by Davis Dalton.

Valdosta got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth.

Packers starter Cameron Summerlin enticed the first batter to pop out to Whatley just in front of the screen behind the plate.

The next batter drew a base on balls, but Summerlin picked him off first.

The first pitch to James Gatlin, the next batter, got away from Summerlin and hit the Valdosta center fielder in the jaw.

Gatlin was down for several minutes, but apparently not hurt badly and was ready to go to first base before retiring to the dugout with a large ice pack applied to his face.

Summerlin walked the next batter on four pitches, including three that reached the backstop, scoring Alex Roberts, who had run for Gatlin, to cut the Packers lead to 3-2.

Summerlin escaped further trouble by getting Thomas Moseley to take a called third strike to end the inning.

The Packers ganged up on the visitors again in the fifth.

Hayden Moore led off with an infield single and scored on a one-out double by Whatley, who scored himself on a fly ball dropped in the Valdosta outfield.

Spradley singled in the final run of the inning to put the Packers up 6-1.

When Summerlin hit the first Valdosta batter with a pitch in the top of the sixth, Chasyn Miley moved from third base to the mound. He gave up a base hit to the first batter he faced, but he got out of the inning without allowing a run.

The Packers made it a runaway in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four times after the first two batters were retired.

Moore reached on an error, stole second and scored on Miley’s double.

Whatley followed with a long homer over the left field fence to drive in his second and third runs of the game.

Fann scooted to third when his liner was booted in center field and scored the final run on Cole Whatley’s infield single.

Miley hit a batter and gave up a single in the top of the seventh, but again did not give up a run and the Packers celebrated with their fans and their championship trophy.

Summerlin got the win, raising his record to 5-1.

Cannon Whatley’s three-hit effort sent his batting average to a season-ending .525. He also drove in 22 runs.

Spradley, who also had three hits on Friday, led the Packers this season with 28 runs batted in and hit .466.

Fann hit .368 and had 24 RBI, Miley had a .352 batting average and Moore, who missed much of the season with an injury, still managed to hit .529.

The rest of the Packers roster includes Hayes Lightsey, Wes Davis, Zy McClendon, Dalton Fillyaw, Brock Weaver, Abraham Daniels, Eli Rountree, Bryce Monk, Hunter Strickland, Nathan Harden and Drew Watson. Chris Hart is the team’s assistant coach.

“As long as these guys stay unselfish and play for each other, the sky’s the limit for them,” Eubanks said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them go to the high school level and achieve great things.”