MOULTRIE – The Colquitt County softball team scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break open a close game and take an 8-3 victory over Bainbridge on Tuesday at Packer Park.
The win, the second of the season over the Lady Cats, raises the Colquitt girls record to 4-3 as they prepare for a two-day trip to Cobb County.
On Friday, the Lady Packers will play Region 6-5A’s Sequoyah (4-3) at 3 p.m. and meet Region 2-5A’s Houston County (4-2) at 5 p.m.
The next morning at 10, Colquitt will meet Region 5-6A’s strong North Paulding (7-0).
The Lady Packers will take a two-game winning streak into their trip north after also having defeated Wilcox County 9-2 on Saturday in Cordele.
The Lady Packers scored nine runs in the first four innings against the Lady Cats in their 13-8 victory on August 8 in Bainbridge.
But on Tuesday at home, Colquitt led just 4-3 when Montana Tatum led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple to right and scored on an error to extend the lead to 5-3.
Gracie McKellar followed with a single and, one out later, scored on a sacrifice bunt by Kamry Paulk.
Peyton Arrington then walked, Rhylee Tillery singled and both scored on a double by Libby Wetherington to give the Lady Packers an 8-3 lead.
Paulk held the Lady Cats scoreless in the top of the seventh to preserve the win.
Colquitt scored a pair of two-out runs in the third, one of which came on an Arrington single.
In the fifth, the Lady Packers scored one run on back-to-back doubles by Arrington and Tillery and another on a fielder’s choice.
Arrington, Tillery and Tatum each had two hits for the Lady Packers.
Wetherington, who drove in three runs, Paulk and McKellar added singles.
Arrington’s two hits raised her batting average to .550.
Sophomore Lilah Thompson started in the circle and went five-plus inning giving all three runs, only two of which were earned. She surrendered all three Bainbridge hits and is now 1-1 for the season.
Paulk entered the game after Thompson walked the first batter in the sixth and finished up.
She lowered her team-leading earned run average to 1.08.