Colquitt Co. sweep ends stellar year for Tigers

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Colquitt Co. sweep ends stellar year for Tigers

Sports
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The Packers

will get a chance to duplicate their 1997 state championship when they

play host to East Coweta, beginning with a doubleheader expected to be

played Friday. A third game, if necessary, will be played Saturday. East

Coweta advanced to championship round with an 8-5, 5-1 doubleheader sweep

of Redan Monday in Sharpsburg.

The Packers

have advanced to the Final Four four times and have made the finals twice

in the last seven years.

Fayette County,

the No. 1 team from Region 4-AAAAA, was the final top seed in the tournament,

but never mounted a real threat until it had two outs in the bottom of

the seventh of the second game.

Colquitt County's

Thomas Tripp, pitching in relief of starter Cody Green, gave up a three-run

home run to Tigers catcher Jason Hardwick to make it 7-5, came right back

with a strikeout to end the game and Fayette County's season.

Fayette County,

which had defeated Effingham County, Eagle's Landing and South Gwinnett

to reach the semifinals, finishes 27-8.

"Our guys

don't have anything to hang their heads about," said Fayette County

head coach Robert Townsend, who has led the Tigers to three region titles

and four state playoff appearances in seven seasons. "We had a great

year."

Monday's two

victories make the Packers 27-8 overall, 8-1 in the playoffs and 12-1

since May 1.

Aaron Eubanks

pitched the Packers to the first-game victory, winning his 11th game of

the season against just two losses. He has won five games in the playoffs.

And Cody Green

pitched into the seventh inning of the nightcap before tiring and gave

up just three runs, only two of which were earned. He is now 8-2.

Eubanks delivered

with both his arm and his bat in Game 1.

The senior

left-hander gave up four runs and seven hits and struck out seven.

But it was

at the plate that he did the most damage. He went 3-for-3 with a double

and a home run and drove in two.

The homer came

in a six-run fifth inning that chased Georgia Tech-bound Fayette County

starter Lee Hyde. The Packers sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning

and got key two-out hits from Brandon Connell, Lee Henry and Johnathan

Walker.

The game had

been close to that point.

The Packers

jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on back-to-back, two-out

doubles by Eubanks and Max DeMott.

Colquitt added

three more in the bottom of the third to go up 4-0. DeMott had the big

hit, a two-run single. Another scored on a wild pitch by Hyde.

The Tigers

scrapped back into the game, scoring two in the top of the fourth and

another in the top of the fifth.

In the fourth,

David Owens walked off Eubanks to open the inning and was forced at second

on Joseph Edens grounder.

Hyde followed

with a double to left, moving Edens to third. Hardwick's sacrifice fly

scored Edens and Hyde scored on a wild pitch.

The Tigers

scored again in the fifth on an infield single by Jeff Crisp and a double

Ricky Williams

singled in Kyle Ray in the top of the seventh, but that was all the Tigers

could manage.

Hyde, who took

the loss while giving up 10 runs and 10 hits, had a double and a single.

Crisp, Owens, Hardwick, Ray and Williams had the other Fayette County

base hits.

Colquitt took

the lead in Game 2 when DeMott led off the second inning with a long home

run off Tigers starter Edens.

The Packers

added three more in the fourth with Connell driving and Walker each driving

in a run. Another scored on a balk.

The Packers

lead went to 7-0 with three runs in the fifth off Fayette County reliever

Dan Cooper.

Jackson drove

in one run with a double, Connell singled in another and Walker's sacrifice

fly drove in the Packers last run of the game.

Hyde got Fayette

County back in the game with a solo homer in the sixth to make it 7-1.

A single by

pinch-hitter Chase Davis off Tripp cut the Colquitt lead to 7-2 in the

seventh. Two batters later, Hardwick fouled off five straight pitches

pitches before hitting a long three-run homer to left to cut the Packers

lead to two.

But Tripp got

the final out.

Hardwick had

two hits in the second game for Fayette County. Owens, Davis, Hyde and

Ray had the others.

Green allowed

just four hits before departing with one out in the seventh.

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