SNELLVILLE, Ga. — The Newton Lady Rams got the bats working on Wednesday and cruised to a 18-1 rout over the South Gwinnett Lady Comets in a game that got out of hand quickly.

Newton entered Wednesday’s game coming off its first win of the season — a 18-10 victory over Rockdale County. With another region game on deck with South Gwinnett, the Lady Rams put up another 18-spot on the scoreboard.

Following scoreless frames from both squads in the first inning, the Lady Rams ended up batting around in their next trip to the plate.

Camille Files put the first point on the board when she singled into left field to score a run. Newton added more on the next at-bat when Janiyah Henderson accepted a bases-loaded walk.

Shortly thereafter, two more runs scored for Newton on an error from South Gwinnett’s shortstop, Carley Davis.

Later in the inning, Newton scored again when Lady Comets’ pitcher Kenadie Keizer hit Tiara Moody with the bases loaded.

Before the inning could end, the Lady Rams made it a 7-0 advantage when two seperate runs scored on a passed ball.

Newton’s patient approach at the plate stayed a theme throughout the contest.

The Lady Rams forced back-to-back walks in the top of the third with one out, which led to an RBI single from Iv’yanna Olguin. Three batters later, Keizer hit another Newton batter with the bases loaded — this time extending the lead to 9-0.

In the next at-bat, Olguin scored on yet another passed ball.  A couple pitches later, Raegan McKnight hit a two-run single to make it a 12-0 advantage.

Keizer went on to hit two more Newton batters with the bases loaded before the frame could end — leading to two more runs for Newton.

With a 14-0 lead, the Lady Rams added four more runs in the fourth inning.

A pair singles from Aaliyah Parsons and Leilani Garcia — combined with an RBI groundout from Files —boosted the Lady Rams to a 18-1 lead over their region rivals.

The lone run of the day for South Gwinnett came in the bottom of the third inning. After a leadoff single, Chasitee Ware scored the run on a RBI groundout.

At the plate, McKnight and Garcia came away with three hits apiece, while Parsons followed with two of her own. 

With the bats working in full force for Erica Johnson and the Lady Rams, the effort from Essence Burney on the mound cannot go unnoticed.

Burney pitched the entire four innings for Newton and allowed one unearned run on only one hit and one walk.

Following the contest with the Lady Comets, Newton took the trip east to battle the Grovetown Lady Warriors. Next up, the Lady Rams will look to claim the Newton Cup when they battle with Alcovy and Eastside on Diamond Day, Saturday, Aug. 24.

Newton will play the Lady Eagles at 9 a.m. and the Lady Tigers at 11 a.m.