COVINGTON, Ga. — With playoff aspirations still on the line, the Newton Rams took game three 4-1 over Grayson to win the series.

Following a 7-5 win and a 12-2 loss to Grayson, Newton came away on top with another strong pitching performance.

Josh Brown, Jordan Nolley and Caden Brown combined for seven innings of work and only allowed two hits in the contest.

Following the win, Newton head coach Delvin Jordan was pleased with the pitching performances on Friday.

“We came in with a gameplan to bring Josh back, because he has been so dominant on the mound. He got the win on Monday,” Jordan said. “I was like, “I know it’s short rest, but we believe the team is better with you and the defense plays well when you are on the mound.’ Jordan told me all week, ‘I got you coach, I got you.’ Jordan came in and did a great job for us. And Caden was like, ‘I know I kind of let you guys down on Wednesday. I wasn’t my best but if you give me a chance on Friday, I will make it happen.’ I believed in the guys. They trusted the game plan, that was the biggest thing, they trusted the game plan and played for each other.”

After a one-two-three frame to open the game from Josh, Rome Mays led off the bottom of the first with a leadoff single. Three batters later, Arin Chevers drove him home on an infield error from Grayson.

In the next at-bat, Grayson committed another error, which allowed Chevers to score and give Newton a 2-0 lead.

Despite a strong start in the first inning, scoring was scarce for both teams for the majority of the contest.

Grayson scored its only run of the game in the fifth inning with Nolley on the mound.

After a walk and an error put two runners on, Landon Arroyos scored a run on a sacrifice fly to make it a 2-1 game.

With Nolley still in the jam, the senior induced a pop fly to end the inning with Newton still ahead.

After escaping the jam, the Rams added another run for more insurance.

With AJ Harbin on first after a hit-by-pitch, Mays laced an RBI double into right field to score the run and extend Newton’s lead to 3-1.

Following a jam in the fifth inning, Newton found itself in another jam in the sixth.

Right after a strikeout from Nolley opened the frame, three consecutive walks loaded the bases for Newton. Midway through the frame, Jordan decided to make the switch on the mound from Nolley to Caden.

With the bases loaded and one out, Caden struck out back-to-back batters to end the inning with three runners on base.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Rams added on one more run on another RBI double. This time, it was off the bat of Kurt Campbell.

Campbell’s double scored Chevers and gave Newton a 4-1 advantage.

Caden pitched a scoreless seventh to close the game out with a Newton win.

Mays led the way offensively for Newton with a 2-for-3 day with a pair of RBIs.

Newton began its last series of the regular season Monday, April 15 at home against South Gwinnett. Game two and three against the Comets are on April 17 and 19.