COVINGTON, Ga. — The Lady Rams fought off multiple Heritage rallies to defeat the Lady Patriots 9-7 in a Region 4-AAAAAA matchup on Monday.

Monday’s game provided a bit more than just the action that was on the diamond. Prior to first pitch, Newton held its annual Teacher Appreciation Night.

One of the other factors was Newton head coach Erica Johnson, who was facing her former team for the first time. Prior to becoming Newton’s head coach this season, Johnson coached the Lady Patriots for four years.

Following the win over her former squad, Johnson spoke about the bond she had with her former team and what it was like to see some familiar faces residing in the opposing dugout.

“My emotions were high, I did miss the girls,” Johnson said. “I leave the school, I don’t leave the kids. I still love the kids at the end of the day. But, everybody has to move on and I moved on. Today, we tried to come out here and get the win and we did.”

The Lady Rams’ matchup on Monday was the team’s first since Diamond Day, where they fell to the Alcovy Lady Tigers (defeated 7-2) and Eastside Lady Eagles (defeated 11-3).

After Diamond Day, Johnson shared what kind of performance she wanted to see.

“Energy,” Johnson said. “When we have high energy, we play well. I wanted them to come out here and be aggressive. It is a region game — a big region game. We are trying to at least get that fourth spot [in the standings].”

Early in the contest, things did not start out well for Newton as the Lady patriots pushed a run across on the second at-bat of the game. Following a leadoff single from Lylian Forte, Taryn Miller later scored her on an RBI groundout.

The Lady Rams were not down for long, though.

Following a walk from Tiara Moody, Aaliyah Parsons drove in not only the runner, but herself as an RBI double turned into a pair of throwing errors that allowed her to take all four bases.

In the second inning, history practically repeated itself. 

With two runners on, Moody hit a fly ball into center field that turned into a two-run triple. However, another throwing error allowed Moody to take the extra 60 feet for an additional run.

Before the inning could end, Raegan McKnight gave Newton a 6-1 lead when she drove in Parsons on an RBI double.

Heritage added a run in the third inning, but did not begin to close the gap until one inning later.

Trailing 6-2, the Lady Patriots put two runners on with only one out. On a ground ball from Forte, the Newton shortstop mishandled the ball which allowed both runners to score.

In the next at-bat, Madisyn Boston pulled Heritage to within one run on a sacrifice fly.

Despite two more runners reaching base, Lady Rams’ pitcher Essence Burney got out of the jam to maintain the advantage.

In the bottom half of the inning, errors plagued Heritage once again. This time, it was a mishap from the first baseman that allowed Moody to score.

One inning later, Newton added the insurance ones that ultimately gave it the win.

After leadoff singles from Leilani Garcia and Janiyah Henderson, Iv’yanna Olguin laced a single into right field to score a run and advance the other runner to third.

Later in the frame, Zaikerryia Smith scored that runner on a single into left field to give the Lady Rams a 9-5 lead.

However, the Lady Patriots put another rally together in the sixth inning.

Even though Newton got the first two batters out in the frame, Heritage put together three consecutive base hits. The last of the three scored two runners to trim the Lady Rams’ lead down to 9-7.

With the Lady Patriots in need of another rally, Bunrey shut them down in the seventh inning.

A strikeout, ground out and a pop out closed Newton’s 9-7 win over Heritage as the team earned its third win over season along with its third win in Region 4-AAAAAA play.

From the start of the season to now, Johnson credited the work and progression that Burney has shown.

“Confidence. She is confident,” Johnson said. “At first, she was a little shy and she did not want to get on the mound. But, she has improved a lot and I commend her and I am proud of her. I couldn;t have been more proud of her today. She came out here and did her thing and we played defense behind her. That makes a difference.”

At the plate, Moody, Parsons and McKnight each came away with three hits and combined for four RBIs.

NEXT UP

The Lady Rams will get back on their home diamond this week when they face the Grayson Lady Rams on Thursday, Aug. 29.