ELLISVILLE – No. 6 Jones College took care of business at home with a doubleheader sweep of Meridian Wednesday night, using a dominant opener in the circle and a late-game rally to secure a dramatic win in game two at Community Bank Park/Gwen Magee Field.
Jones has won 39 straight in the series and improved to 39-8, 18-4 in the MACCC.
Meridian fell to 25-22, 11-11 in league play.
The Bobcats head to No. 20 Northeast on Sunday, April 19 at 2 p.m.
Jones 8, Meridian 0 (5 inn.)
Jones scored in each of the first three innings to run-rule Meridian in five innings.
The Bobcats struck first in the opening inning when
Mary Kimble Price delivered an RBI-single, followed by a sacrifice fly from
Madison Sawyer to make it 2-0.
Jones blew the game open in the second, highlighted by
Annaston Tate's three-run home run to left field that pushed the lead to 6-0.
Jones added two more in the third inning, taking advantage of Meridian miscues.
Laney Little drove in a run with a single before
Claire Andersen capped the scoring with an RBI-double down the left-field line.
That was more than enough support for Sawyer, who improved to 17-1 on the season. She tossed 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out two.
Morgan Landry closed it out with 1.2 innings of relief to complete the shutout.
Jones finished with five hits but capitalized on five walks and three Meridian errors. Andersen led the way, going 2-for-2 with two runs scored, while Tate drove in three runs. Price added two RBIs.
Willa Simmons (8-8) took the loss after allowing eight runs (six earned) in 2.2 innings.
Jones 9, Meridian 6
Jones rallied from a late deficit to complete the sweep in a back-and-forth battle.
Meridian struck first in the opening inning on an RBI-single from Alex Layfield, but Jones answered immediately, tying the game on a sequence of defensive errors that allowed Andersen to score.
After a quiet stretch, Jones took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning when
Addy Shorter launched a two-run homer to center. They added another run in the fifth on an error to extend the lead to 4-1.
Meridian responded with its biggest inning of the day in the sixth, erupting for five runs on seven hits. Hayden-Leigh Holifield delivered a two-run single and Mollie Mitchell followed with a two-run hit of her own as Meridian surged ahead 6-4.
But the lead didn't last long.
Jones answered emphatically in the bottom of the sixth.
Mabry Eason tied the game with a two-run homer, and moments later, Sawyer delivered the crushing blow—a three-run home run to center field—to put Jones back on top 9-6.
Breelyn Cain (9-5) earned the win in relief, while Sawyer picked up the save, closing out the seventh inning.
Hannah Capello (8-5) was tagged with the loss for Meridian.
Jones totaled nine hits in the game, with big contributions from Eason and Sawyer in the decisive inning. Meridian outhit Jones 10-9 but was hurt by five errors, which proved costly in the late innings.
