MERIDIAN – Almost one month to the day in the Bobcats' season-opener at The Bank, Meridian handed Jones a pair of gut-wrenching, one-run losses.
On Thursday night, they returned the favor.
Jones rallied from a 7-3 deficit over the final three innings to win the opener, 9-8, and then scored four in the 10th inning to take the nightcap, 11-7.
The No. 12 Bobcats improved to 10-8 overall and 3-1 in MACCC play. Meridian fell to 10-4 and 2-2.
Game 1 – Jones 9, Meridian 8
Trailing 8-6 in the top of the ninth, a pair of RBIs from
DeeJay Booth and
Preston Ratliff, followed by a balk plated the go-ahead run and
Garrett Langrell tossed a scoreless bottom half for his second save.
Jones batted around in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead, using a pair of bases-loaded walks to
Hunter French and
Chase Honeycutt and a passed ball.
Meridian tied the game an inning later on a two-run home run from Bo Gatlin and RBI-single from Banks Tolley.
Home runs by Braden Luke and Adam Moncure extended the lead to 6-3 and it was 8-6 Meridian thanks to Parker Nelson's sac fly after eight complete.
In the final frame, Honeycutt drew a leadoff walk and later scored on Booth's RBI-single to make it 8-7 and Ratliff's fielder's choice tied it at 8-all. Two batters later, new pitcher John Stogner balked that plated Booth for the eventual game-winning run.
Langrell (SV, 2) worked around a single and struck out two in the ninth to seal the come-from-behind win.
The top of the Bobcat order combined to go 7-for-19 with six runs scored, led by Booth's 3-for-5 outing.
Making his first appearance of the year,
Cole Mozingo got the win in two relief innings, allowing an unearned run. Meridian used nine pitchers in the loss, with Brett Mason tagged for the decision.
Game 2 –
Jones 11, Meridian 7 (10 inn)
Jumping on top 4-0 after one, Jones rallied for four runs in the top of the 10th to complete the sweep in a nearly 10-hour day at the ballpark.
A two-run home run from Ratliff, passed ball and
Kade Keeton RBI-single gave Jones the early lead. Honeycutt's sac fly and French's RBI-single extended the Bobcat lead to 6-1 in the fourth.
Meridian slowly clawed its way back in the game over the fifth and sixth innings, pulling within 7-5 on Bridley Thomas' RBI-double and Banks Tolley's RBI-single.
Thomas delivered the big hit for the Eagles to tie the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the seventh, driving an 0-1 pitch deep over the fence in right.
Langrell kept the Eagles scoreless in the eighth and ninth and so did Austin Huggins out of the pen for Meridian in 5.2 gutsy innings.
A wild 10th inning created some drama, with a pair of Meridian ejections – both a coach and later a player.
Jesse Johnson's one-out single put the go-ahead run on for Jones, and after
Brady Spring's double, he would score on a wild pitch to make it 8-7. The outfield camera angle showed Johnson safe at the plate with a fantastic slide, but that didn't stop the home team from arguing which led to a coach ejection.
Kade Keeton (3-for-5, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) made it hurt worse with a two-run double and Honeycutt's squeeze bunt extended the Bobcat lead to 11-7.
Keeton then closed it out in the bottom of the 10th with back-to-back strikeouts.
Jones will host Mississippi Delta on Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m. at The Bank on JCJC.TV.
