VALDOSTA — The Region 1-AAAAA baseball title could pretty much be decided tonight.

Valdosta meets Lowndes at 7 p.m. at VHS’s Bazemore Field. Valdosta (17-4) leads the region at 7-1, while Lowndes (17-6) sits just one game back, in a tie for second at 6-2.

The winner of tonight’s game won’t officially wrap up the region title. But they’ll certainly be in the driver’s seat. If Valdosta wins, it would need to win only one of its final two region games (against Tift County on Tuesday and Houston County on Friday). If Lowndes won, it would climb into a tie with Valdosta for first, and the Vikings would hold the tiebreaker.

“As far as we’re concerned, this is for the region championship,” Lowndes head coach Danny Redshaw said. “If we win Friday and take care of business next week, we’ll be region champions. If they win, they’ll probably be region champions.”

“It would definitely be a big win, because it’s Lowndes, and because it would help us in the region,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “Both teams are very good, and they’ve both had good seasons. Both are pitching their best pitchers. It’ll be a good game.

“Our kids are real excited. It’s our last home game, and it’s against Lowndes in a big region game.”

Both teams will send their aces to the mound. Will Flail (7-2, 2.54) will be on the hill for Valdosta, while Lowndes counters with JonMichael Redding (1-2, 3.96), who is healthy now after elbow problems plagued him earlier in the season. Lowndes will also have undefeated Chris Mederos (6-0, 1.96) available in relief if needed.

It’s been a while since the stakes have been so high in this rivalry. The last time the two teams were fighting for first this late in the season was 2000, when Valdosta upset eventual state champion Lowndes 11-5 (the Vikings still wound up being region champs).

“I’m looking forward to it,” Redshaw said. “If we play well, we’ll have a chance.”

Valdosta is having its best season in several years, and finds itself leading the region just one season after finishing last.

“We’re scared to death of them. I think they’re the best team in the region,” Redshaw said. “They may not have the most talent in the region, but they’ve played the best team baseball. They just play well.”

“It’s been a good year,” Shuman said. “We’ve just got a bunch of scrappy ballplayers, and they go to work every day. They’ve worked their way into being a good baseball team.”

So which Wildcat players impress Lowndes’ coach?

“They’re all pretty good,” Redshaw said. “(Ryan) Danbury’s a player. I like their catcher, (Brent) Turner. He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid. Flail is tough as a pitcher and a hitter. (Will) Welch is a bulldog. There’s Fowler, and Chism, and that sophomore in right, Daniels. They’re strong, one through nine. Bart’s done a great job with that bunch.”

Shuman was plenty impressed with the players in Lowndes’ lineup, too. He coached many of them when they were growing up playing at the Valdosta Boys Club.

“It’s a typical Lowndes team,” Shuman said. “They’re loaded. They’ve got a great senior class, like we do. Matt Harper is a great player. They’ve got great senior pitching with Redding and Mederos and Ryan Youmans. A good senior catcher (Randy J. Williams), John Simpson at first, and Dax (Spriggs). They’ve got a good infield and a good outfield. They’re a good ballclub. They’re hard to beat.”

“I like our team,” Redshaw said. “I like our pitching. I like the way we’ve been swinging the bats lately. I like our defense. We’re hitting .345 as a team. We haven’t hit that well since 2001 (when Lowndes was the state runner-up).”

In the team’s first meeting this season, at Noel George Field on April 7, Valdosta grabbed a 6-0 lead in the first three innings, only to have Lowndes rally to win 7-6.