COVINGTON, Ga. — The Newton Rams picked up a shutout win last Friday over Mount Vernon as the team gears up for its final series of the regular season.
The Rams(16-11) and Mustangs(10-10) battled in a non-region matchup, but it was all Newton from the very start.
After a quick one-two-three inning on the mound from junior Chris Guillory, Newton found itself in a good spot after two of its first three batters reached on base hits.
Despite an ensuing strikeout, the Rams scored the game’s first run on a RBI groundout from Devontae Hardeman to put Newton ahead 1-0.
The Mustangs began to threaten with a leadoff double in the second, but Guillory retired the next three batters to leave the inning.
In the third inning, the Rams began to break it open.
After a leadoff double from Robert Jackson, the center fielder stole third base and later scored on an error from the Mount Vernon third baseman on a Guillory ground ball.
The error scored Jackson and allowed Guillory to advance to second base and eventually third base on a passed ball.
After senior Caden Brown was hit by the pitch to put two runners on, Hardeman delivered again.
This time, it was a two-run single to put the Rams ahead 4-0.
Guillory’s day on the mound ended after the second inning. In his place came Brown, who also pitched two innings.
After a quick inning on the mound in the third, Brown found himself in some trouble in the fourth frame.
Following a leadoff double from Harrison Mills, Brown earned the first two outs before Bobby Bastek singled and Hudson Forrest walked to load the bases.
Three pitches, three strikes for Brown as he struck out Andrew Moran to strand all three runners and escape the jam.
When Newton went back to bat, the momentum seemed to carry over.
A leadoff double from Jayce Yearwood eventually led to the Rams loading the bases after Kris Ross reached on an error and Jackson reached on a four-pitch walk.
The control continued to be an issue for Preston Grice in the next at-bat as he hit Kendall Turner with the first pitch of the sequence.
The hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded scored Yearwood to extend the lead to 5-0 with no outs recorded.
In the next at-bat, Guillory took all five pitches he saw before accepting a walk with the bases loaded to earn the RBI.
With Newton ahead 6-0, Mount Vernon turned the ball over to Nate Shumway, who found a way to escape the jam and record all three outs.
Shumway induced a double play that prevented the run at third to score. Brown grounded out in the ensuing at-bat to end the frame.
The Rams made a pitching change of their own in the fifth as they turned the slab over to Ross, who pitched a scoreless frame to begin his outing.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Rams got it started with a leadoff single from Hardeman. This led to a seventh run for the Rams as a bad throw-in on a single from Yearwood allowed hardeman to score all the way from first base.
The run put Newton ahead 7-0 — the eventual final score.
Ross maneuvered around a walk and a pair of errors in the sixth innings as he struck out back-to-back batters to escape a bases-loaded jam.
In the seventh and final frame, Newton gave the ball to sophomore Josh Brown Jr., who earned all three outs to secure the 16th win of the season for the Rams.
Key stats
The combination of Guillory(2 IP), Brown(2 IP), Ross(2 IP) and Brown(1 IP) pitched a shutout for Newton as the four combined to strike out seven batters and only allow four hits.
At the plate, Guillory, Hardeman and Yearwood all came away with multi-hit games.
Hardeman’s two RBIs led the team in the win.
What’s next
The Rams began the final regular season series against the South Gwinnett Comets(2-18) on the road on Monday, April 14.
The final two games of the series will take place at Newton on Wednesday, April 16 and at South Gwinnett on Friday, April 18.
