COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton’s offense picked up right where it left off against Stockbridge in Tuesday night’s battle against Monroe Area.

The Rams (2-2) reached double figures in the run column for the second consecutive game as they pulled back to .500 on the season with an 11-3 triumph over the Hurricanes on their home diamond.

"We carried the momentum from the Stockbridge win on Saturday," head coach Darrell Helm said. "The bats definitely came alive, stayed hot."

Newton is off to a scorching hot start at the plate in 2021. Despite being shut out by Prince Avenue over the weekend, the Rams have driven in 32 runs through four games.

After working a hitless top of the opening frame, Newton went straight to work in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Zion Ross drew a leadoff walk on five pitches, worked his way around the diamond to third base on a pair of outs, and later sprinted home on a passed ball to give the Rams a 1-0 lead.

The Hurricanes struck back an inning later as junior Chris Rahl lined an RBI double to the warning track in straightaway center field, tying the game at 1.

From then on, however, the game would belong to the Rams.

Newton capitalized on a pair of fielding blunders in the third inning, allowing Demetres Jackson and Will Standard to score. A pair of passed balls and a single off the bat of Jackson resulted in three runs in the third inning, pushing Newton’s advantage out to 6-1. Senior Tyler Bell then came to the plate with a pair of runners in scoring position and belted a sacrifice fly to deep left field, plating a run that made it 7-1.

Newton tacked on two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, to put the game away.

Standard, the senior right-hander, produced an efficient outing on the mound for the Rams. He finished the day having allowed three runs — only one of which was earned — on six hits while striking out five and walking one. But what was perhaps most notable was that he was able to accomplish that line on just 79 pitches.

"Will was a beast [Tuesday.] He came in and did exactly what I needed him to do," Helm said. "He threw strikes and let the defense play behind him. I'm very impressed with my senior."

The Rams will be looking to exact revenge when they welcome Jasper County to town Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The Hurricanes handed Newton a season-opening, 7-4 loss on Wednesday, Feb. 17.