MOULTRIE – Colquitt County will play its first slow pitch softball game in 25 years on Wednesday when the Lady Packers open their season at West Laurens.
Colquitt played slow pitch from 1984-2000, but has exclusively played fast pitch since then.
The inaugural slow pitch program was successful and Colquitt County had three top-four state finishes in the final four years it played the sport.
Keith Croft coached the team for 10 seasons and had a 176-88 record when Colquitt County discontinued the sport.
But last year, the school agreed to become one of the 23 programs in the state to field a slow pitch team in 2025.
“It will give our girl athletes another chance to compete for a state championship,” said Chance Pitts, the fast pitch program’s most successful coach, who will be the slow pitch team’s first coach this season.
Colquitt will join West Laurens, East Laurens, Hancock Central and Macon County in Area 2.
Area 1 will include Beach, Groves, Richmond Hill, Savannah and Windsor Forest; Area 3, Cherokee, Creekview, Haralson County, Osborne, Sequoyah and Woodstock; and Area 4, Elbert County, Franklin County, Hart County, Jefferson, Johnson of Gainesville, North Oconee and Oconee County.
The state slow pitch finals will be held April 16-17.
Teams can play a maximum of 16 regular-season games.
Colquitt County’s schedule includes five regular-season doubleheaders, beginning with the twin bill at West Laurens in Dexter, which is outside Dublin.
The Lady Raiders won the state championship in 2023.
“We’ll be starting with the toughest opponent in our area,” Pitts said.
The Lady Packers next two doubleheaders will be at Packer Park.
They will play host to East Laurens at 4 p.m. on March 5, and Macon County at 5 p.m on March 19.
Colquitt will travel for its final two doubleheaders, at Hancock Central in Sparta on March 26 and at Richmond Hill on April 9.
Colquitt County’s roster includes just 11 players: Montana Tatum, the only senior; Kamry Paulk; Ava Fields; Anna Lynn Armstrong; Bryleigh Webb; Addison Moore; Karleigh Heard; Rhylee Tillery; Caroline Eidson; Caselynn Allen; and Allie Eure.
“We’ll be young this year,” Pitts said. “But we’ll see what we’ve got and start building the program.”
The 11 Lady Packers are veterans of fast pitch, which is played in the fall.
There are some differences in the two sports.
In slow pitch, teams use 10 players, including four outfielders. There is no stealing and players can not play off bases.
The pitching rubber is 46 feet from home plate, rather than the 43 feet in fast pitch.
The pitched ball shall have an arc of not less than 6 feet and not more than 12 feet. Bunting is not allowed.
For girls who also play fast pitch, one benefit of the spring season will be the opportunity to work in their defense.
In slow pitch, nearly every pitched ball is put in play.
Pitts, who is the school’s assistant athletic director and the middle school athletic director, turned over the reins of the fast pitch team last fall to Taylor Barber.
It wasn’t long before Pitts agreed to help usher in the new slow pitch program.
There is a connection from 1984’s first slow pitch team through to its final team in 2000 and now to 2025’s renewed program.
One of the 19 Lady Packers on the first team coached by Missie Brock and Michelle Fowler was a determined and skilled young player named Angie Causey.
Sixteen years later, Keith Croft’s assistant coach on the 2000 Lady Packers team was the same young woman, now Angie Causey Davis, who had grown into popular and integral part of the program.
Angie passed away in 2014, but the assistant coach on this year’s team is Angie’s son, veteran baseball and softball coach Ryan Davis to help continue the program’s tradition.
Pitts said he hopes to see other south Georgia programs also return to playing slow pitch softball.
“I think if we are successful, maybe Lowndes, Valdosta and Tift County will do it next year,” Pitts said. “It’s an easy start-up. It’s not expensive. You use the same helmets and uniforms (as the fast pitch team does).”
Another advantage for getting other south Georgia schools involved is that it will cut down on travel.
East Laurens and West Laurens are about 125 miles from Moultrie. Macon County is 86 miles. Hancock Central is 182.
The Lady Packers trip to Richmond Hill on April 9 will be 400 miles round trip.
In addition to Angie Causey, the other members of the 1984 pioneering team that went 10-8 were Tina Crosby, DeAnna Clayton, Billie Jo Cooper, Kendra Lyles, Vanessa Taylor, Donna Turner, Lisa Stallings, Robi Dalton, Kathy Holder, Sandra Johnson, Cindy Paulk, Susan Clark, Dawn Payne, Julia Poole, Staci Howell, Lara Bell, Lisa Miller and Dana Lewis.
The 2000 team, the last to play slow-pitch for Colquitt County, included Jodi Beth Hammack, Monica Lott, Joni Bozeman, P.J. Horne, Tera Willis, Roxanne Hood, Melissa Weaver, Geneva Christy, Mary Sue Weaver, Kelli Moser, Britney Wetherington, Jill Clark, Misty Whittington, Ashley Gray and Janice Huckaby.