MOULTRIE – Dylan Collins pitched five innings for the win, and the Colquitt County High baseball offense had – for the second home game in a row – a big middle-inning scoring surge that took the opposition into its bullpen. The Packers and head coach Tony Kirkland remained unbeaten through three games so far in 2018 by topping LaGrange High 7-3 Saturday afternoon on Ike Aultman Field at Jerry Croft Stadium.

Collins, in his first mound appearance on the new season, gave up six hits and one run with one walk and four strikeouts.

Colquitt County defeated Cairo in Wednesday’s season opener 8-1, and that was with six runs scored in the bottom of the fifth inning against three Syrupmaker pitchers. Several aspects of that Wednesday game and the Saturday tilt were similar, like the visiting team scoring first and the Packers taking time to scratch across the tying run. Against LaGrange, with the score even 1-1, Colquitt County struck for six runs in the bottom of the fourth with the Grangers using two on the mound.

Each team turned a double play in the infield during the early going. It was in the top of the second when LaGrange’s Will Alford singled as the lead-off hitter. Second baseman Dylan Dalton fielded a slow roller, stepped on second base and fired to Ethan Phillips at first to get the batter by a step. It was Dalton’s third assist through two innings; he ended up with five.

In the top of the third, LaGrange took the 1-0 advantage when, with one out, No. 9 hitter Ben Farrar beat out a slow roller to second. Umpires ruled a balk on Collins moving Farrar to second, but he stayed there when Gavin Patel, the shortstop, took a grounder for the second out.

Collins’ only walk was to opposing starting pitcher John Morgan, and Wes Coon followed with a single to left. LaGrange coaches waved Farrar home from the start.

But the Packers got that run back in the home half as Tucker Hathcock led off looping a single to left. Phillips was next and hit a ball the shortstop threw away trying to get a force at second. Alex Bledsoe, Kirkland’s No. 9 batter, bunted both runners into scoring position.

Patel, who singled in his first at-bat, drove home Hathcock on a long fly ball.

The fourth inning as a whole was adventurous for both sides, but much more productive for Colquitt County. The Grangers victimized themselves both on the basepaths and in the field.

In LaGrange’s turn, catcher Trent Bailey led off with a hit, and his courtesy runner was on second base with one out. Big Seth Prater came off the bench to pinch hit and singled. However, the substitute runner saw a ‘stop sign’ late rounding third, and the baseball went from Bledsoe in left to the catcher Mack Crosby to Raines Plant at third base to get him going back.

Plant, a left-handed hitter, singled over the third baseman to lead off the Packer half. Tanner Wilson, in the clean-up spot, drove a double to deep left. The Granger infield did not play in with Collins up and nobody out, but it didn’t matter for the pitcher helped himself poking a two-run single over that infield.

Up 3-1, Crosby faced a sidearming new pitcher and won a battle looping his first single. Hathcock laid down a great bunt down the third-base line, and LaGrange threw the ball away here forcing in one more run. With one out, Bledsoe’s looper was caught by Morgan (playing second base), and Reese Bledsoe (Crosby’s runner) tagged up and made it 5-1.

The damage wasn’t done, however, as Patel walked and LaGrange dropped Dalton’s pop-up. With everybody running, two more Packer runs were on the board (7-1).

Collins finished his outing with a perfect top of the fifth featuring two of his strikeouts. Trace Eakins pitched the sixth giving up one run on one hit, Bailey’s double. Horne entered the game with two runners on in the seventh, gave up one run on Morgan’s hit then made two fielding plays himself to end it.

• On Friday, Colquitt County played at Coffee High in Douglas instead of at home due to the lighting issue at Jerry Croft Stadium. The Packers won the game 9-8 behind four RBI by Plant (who doubled and tripled), three runs scored by Patel and two RBI from Wilson.

Turner Sircy pitched four innings giving up three runs on three hits. Patel made his first pitching appearance and worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings scattering three hits.