MERIDIAN – It took nearly seven hours for No. 4 Jones College and Meridian to play 15 innings of baseball Tuesday afternoon at Scaggs Field.

Meridian scored 10 unanswered runs to run-rule the Bobcats 14-4 in the opener before Jones answered with a 17-15 slugfest victory in a nightcap that featured 32 runs and an eight-run, two-out rally in the final inning.

Jones hosts Northeast on Saturday, April 18 at 2 p.m. We will recognize our 2016 national championship team prior to first pitch, so fans are encouraged to arrive a little earlier.

Meridian 14, Jones 4 (8 inn.)

The opener was tight early before Meridian's bats turned it into a rout.

Jones (30-12, 13-6 MACCC) struck first in the second inning when Brayson Graham laced a two-run double to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.

Meridian answered immediately with a solo home run from Tyler Johnson in the bottom half, then flipped the game in the third when Jacob Driver launched a three-run homer to make it 4-2.

Jones clawed back to tie it in the fifth. Talan Theriot delivered an RBI-single and Gage Reeves followed with a sac bunt to even the score at 4-4.

Meridian (19-19, 6-13 MACCC) responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by Johnson's two-run single, then broke the game open late. Driver added his second homer of the day in the seventh and Brayden Allen capped a five-run frame with a three-run blast to push the lead to 11-4.

The Eagles tacked on three more in the eighth to complete the 14-4 win behind an 18-hit attack.

Driver finished with two home runs and four RBIs, while Johnson went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and reached base five times. Allen added three hits and three RBIs.

Vaiden Ellis (4-2) earned the win, allowing four runs over five innings, and Conner Moore closed it out with three scoreless frames.

Colton Smith (8-2) took the loss for Jones, surrendering six runs over 5.1 innings.

Jones College 17, Meridian 15

Jones took a 17-7 lead into the bottom of the seventh and needed one out for the victory before Meridian plated eight, two-out runs and got the tying run to the plate.

Jones scored five runs in the first two innings and built a 13-5 lead by the end of the fifth. The Bobcats took advantage of walks, hit batters and timely hits, with Eli Wheat driving in two runs and Dakota Smith adding a key RBI-double.

The offense kept rolling in the seventh when Sanders Ainsworth crushed a three-run homer to extend the lead to 17-7, seemingly putting the game out of reach.

It wasn't.

Down to its final out in the bottom of the seventh, Meridian erupted for eight runs in a stunning rally. With two outs and the bases loaded, the Eagles strung together walks and clutch hits, including a two-run single by Nate Trochessett and a three-run double from Graham Jackson that suddenly made it 17-15.

With the tying run at the plate, Jones finally slammed the door.

Trevor Hodges entered and recorded the final out to secure his fifth save and preserve the wild victory.

Jones totaled 17 runs on 12 hits, capitalizing on hit-by-pitches, walks and defensive miscues. Ainsworth's three-run homer highlighted the offense, while Wheat and Chase Russell each drove in multiple runs.

Canyon Reeves (3-0) earned the win in relief for Jones, while Ridge Brown (2-3) took the loss.