MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County baseball team celebrated Senior Night – and the last chance to tune up for a key Region 1-7A doubleheader at Camden County on Friday — by knocking off Coffee 9-1 on Wednesday on Ike Aultman Field at Jerry Croft Stadium.

Not long after the nine Packers seniors and their parents were honored before the game, catcher Cole Whatley — one of those seniors — hit a long home run to lead off the bottom of the second inning and Colquitt cruised from there, evening their overall record at 11-11.

The Packers will hope to get a similar outcome times two on Friday in Kingsland.

Lowndes, 8-0 in the region, has clinched the league title, but the Packers still have an opportunity to finish second and play host to at least a first-round state playoff series.

Colquitt and Tift County are tied at 3-5 in the region standings with Camden a game back at 2-6.

While the Packers and Wildcats are tangling on the coast, Tift County will try to keep pace against Lowndes, which is ranked No. 2 in Class 7A by MaxPreps.

Colquitt County could be in the right frame of mind after taking advantage of some shaky late Coffee pitching on Wednesday.

The Trojans brought a 17-6 overall record and a 7-2 Region 1-5A mark into the game, although they were treated rudely by visiting Lowndes on Tuesday in Douglas, losing 13-3.

A second-straight game against a Region 1-7A opponent worked out no better.

Four Trojan pitchers combined to walk nine batters, including seven in the six-run sixth inning that allowed the Packers to turn what had been a close game into a blowout.

The homer by Whatley, his first of the season, started his 2-for-2, two-RBI night.

Coffee tied the game in the top of the fourth when Kale Hopper, who had relieved senior starter Cameron Summerlin in the third inning, hit two of the three batters he faced.

Tyler Owens replaced Hopper and immediately gave up a run-scoring single to Coffee right fielder Zaelyn Smith.

But Owens then got Connor Jones to line into a double play to end the inning.

The Packers broke the tie in the bottom of the inning on a two-run single by senior Davis Dalton.

Coffee was poised to get right back in the game in the top of the fifth when Owens walked the first three Trojan batters.

Cook Tompkins was then summoned from the bullpen to deal with the bases-loaded, no-out situation.

And the ninth-grader got the job done.

Tompkins struck out Coffee Trent Smith and then got Will Lott to hit a bouncer to senior third baseman Abraham Daniels, whose throw to the plate was in time for the force out.

He then struck out Justin Swords on a 3-2 pitch to end the Trojans’ last chance to pressure the Packers.

Tompkins also held the Trojans scoreless in the sixth before turning the game over to senior Bryce Monk, who walked the first batter in the seventh before striking out the final three Trojans to end the game.

Summerlin pitched the first 1.2 innings giving up a hit and three walks. He struck out three.

Hopper gave up the only run, although he did not surrender a hit. He did hit three Trojans with pitches. One of them scored.

Owens and Tompkins each gave up one of the three hits the Trojans managed.

Colquitt had just five hits, including the home run and single by Whatley.

Dalton also had two hits. Senior Chasyn Miley had the other.

Not showing up in the box score were three outstanding plays by Daniels, who victimized Coffee’s Brady Skipper each time.

In addition to throwing Skipper out at the plate in the fifth inning, Daniels made a diving grab of hard ground ball in the third inning and threw out the Coffee shortstop.

And Daniels snagged a rope hit by Skipper to end the sixth inning.

The other of the nine Colquitt County seniors who were honored on Wednesday were Cannon Whatley, Hayes Lightsey and Hayden Moore.