COVINGTON, Ga. — A three-game sweep was in order for the Newton Rams this past week as they started Region 4-AAAAAA with three straight wins over the Heritage Patriots.
Despite three games in four days, the Rams showed no signs of slowing down as the team accumulated 26 runs in the series.
Game 1 — Newton 7, Heritage 2
The first game took place Tuesday, Feb. 24 and went the full seven innings as Newton’s Jayce Yearwood and Heritage’s James Frazier battled as the two starters.
Yearwood got out of the first inning unscathed before Kendall Turner found his way all the way to third base in the bottom half of the first.
With wheels on third, Turner stole home for the game’s first run.
In the top of the third, Ian Copeland cashed in on a one-out walk when he stole home himself to tie the game.
Cam Scott led off the ensuing inning with a single before Turner stepped back in and took a large hack.
Turner pulled the ball to the left and well over the fence in left field for a two-run home run. Later in the frame, Bryce Grant sent a two-run double into center field to make it a 5-1 advantage for the hosting Rams.
Devontae Hardmen took over on the mound in the fifth and surrendered a lone run after Copeland dashed home on a wild pitch.
Copeland’s second run proved to be the final output of the day for Heritage, but Newton added on for good measure.
Yearwood singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth before he stole second and moved over third on a passed ball.
With Yearwood on third, Grant singled into right field to score the run. Hardeman later scored on an error in the sixth to put the final run on the board.
Turner took over the pitching duties in the final inning and pitched around an error to close the door on Heritage in game one.
Turner and Grant totaled two hits apiece — the same as the entity of the Heritage lineup.
Yearwood’s start paved the way for the win as the Newton staff held the Patriots to only two hits. Both of Heritage’s runs were unearned.
Game 2 — Newton 7, Heritage 6
Following a Yearwood start in game one, head coach Delvin Jordan turned the ball over to Josh Brown Jr. in game two.
Brown pitched a scoreless first, but the Patriots got to the Rams’ right-hander in the second to break the scoring open.
With two outs, Charles Walker doubled to center field to put a runner on base before Adam Bolton hit a RBI single on the infield.
Down 0-1 after a pair of scoreless frames at the plate, Newton turned the corner in a big way in the top of the third.
Anthony Vazquez, Robert “38” Jackson and Gabe White all reached base on singles to lead off the inning.
With the bases juiced and no outs, Turner worked a full count before he hit a grand slam to dead center to break the game open.
Newton led 4-1, but the team added more in the inning on a RBI knock from Grant.
Brown continued to pitch for Newton and had success, but Heritage managed to get a run back courtesy of a solo home run from Walker in the bottom of the fourth.
Newton put runners on in both of the next two frames, but both ended scoreless as Heritage’s Denzell Gillespie appeared to settle in after the Turner grand slam.
Down by three runs, Heritage orchestrated a key rally in the bottom of the sixth.
The first two batters reached base before Walker sent a RBI double into left field.
After Ja’Coren Weaver loaded the bases on a dropped third strike, he walked Copeland with the bases loaded to force in a run. Then, Weaver plunked the next two batters.
When Weaver hit Gillespie with the second pitch, it gave Heritage the lead back at 6-5.
Weaver induced a fly out to end the frame, but the Rams had their work cut out for them with only three outs left.
When it came time for Newton to put together a rally of its own, it all came to fruition.
Jackson led off the inning with a double and he eventually moved over to third base on a wild pitch.
With a prime scoring chance, White delivered with a game-tying knock on the infield. Following singles from Turner and Chris Guillory, Newton found itself in a chance to grab the go-ahead run.
The bases were loaded, but Copeland managed to pick off Turner on second base for the second out. However, the pick-off attempt allowed White enough time to steal home and give Newton the lead
After he closed the door in game one and delivered the grand slam in the start of game two, Turner was called upon once again to pitch the final frame.
Despite a one-out walk, Turner struck out a pair of Patriots to grab a 7-6 victory and clinch the series win.
Turner, Guillory, Jackson and White all finished with multi-hit games in the win.
On the mound, the Rams tallied 12 strikeouts as a staff.
Game 3 — Newton 12, Heritage 1
Game three proved to be the most lopsided of the series as the Patriots had no answers for Guillory’s arm and the Rams’ fast start.
Guillory started game three and the hard-throwing right-hander made quick work of the Patriots in the opening frame with a pair of strikeouts.
Following a walk and a pair of singles to start the bottom of the first, it was off to the races.
Grant came through with a two-run single to right field before Hardeman stole home for the third run.
Heritage managed to escape the inning without further damage, and even scratched a run back off Guillory shortly thereafter.
Guillory surrendered a walk and a pair of singles before one run came across on a passed ball.
However, any momentum Heritage had was short lived as Newton’s bats got right back to work.
The first three batters reached before Guillory helped himself with an RBI single. Two more RBI base hits later, Newton’s lead shot up to 9-1 to end the second frame.
Copeland and Charner Lumpkin both reached base in the third,but Guillory earned all three outs via strikeout to end the frame scoreless.
Heritage’s Tyler Hutton looked to be well on his way to a scoreless frame after two quick outs in the third, but it changed in an instant.
Turner laced a double into left field before Guillory hit a double of his own to score the run and make it a 10-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Jackson added a pair onto the lead when he scored Grant and Tu’Marion Flournoy on a two-run double.
Weaver took over in the top of the fifth and pitched around two runners to help the Rams earn the 12-1 win and the series sweep.
Along with his quality start, Guillory tallied three hits and two RBIs. Grant also finished with three hits, but led the team with four RBIs.
Final thoughts and what’s next
Across the series, Turner and Grant posted big numbers as the two tallied six hits apiece and combined for 14 RBIs.
As a pitching staff, Newton combined for 29 strikeouts to 13 walks in the series.
The Rams will start their next region series when they take on the Grayson Rams on Monday, March 2.
