It was a mercy-rule kind of night in The Jungle.

Northeast Jones hammered Richton 13-3 Tuesday night in a 4 1/2 inning contest. The Tigers improve to 3-1 on the season.

"Well, we won, so that is good," said NEJ head coach Jeremy Parker. "We're trying to come together as this new team. Some of our guys played a lot last year, but they were more role players and not the main cogs in the wheel. I got a little frustrated this past week, but when I stepped back, I realized we're still running a lot of sophomores out on the field. And that can be intimidating when you go on the field at the level. But we're getting the butterflies out of the way and starting to gell."

Senior RHP Shelby Nowell tossed three complete innings for the Tigers, allowing one earned run on three hits. He struck out six of the 15 Richton batters he faced.

Two runs crossed the plate unearned in the top frame of the first while Nowell occupied the mound. With two outs and two Richton runners on base, a swinging strike three in the dirt led to a throwing error at first. Two runs scored because of the error.

“Shelby struggled early on,” said Parker, “but he settled down after that.”

Nowell caught a groove in the second inning, retiring the side on three consecutive strikeouts. He also fanned two in a row to end the third.

"We decided to pull Shelby after 50 pitches," Parker said. "He's usually a reliever for us, and we'll probably let him continue in that role.

Carson Ellis pitched the remaining two innings. The sophomore RHP allowed no runs on two hits and struck out three.

"Carson got his second taste of the mound," said Parker. "He threw the fourth and fifth and did well. He did a better job of staying ahead of the count today."

Northeast Jones scored the five of its runs on bases-loaded walks and passed balls with runnings in scoring position.

"We had more quality at-bats tonight, I thought," said Parker. "Richton [pitchers] struggled with command. But we did a good job laying off the close pitches and getting some timely hits. I didn't count up the walks and hit-batters, but I know they had several."

The Tigers slugged out five hits led by senior Dawson Brooks, who hit doubles in back-to-back innings (first and second). Carson Ellis, Bryce Sullins, and Eli Collins had solo hits each.

The biggest inning for the Tigers was an eight-run first, highlighted by an Ellis two-run double. He tried to stretch his double into a triple but was hosed at third base to end the frame.

Brooks hit two doubles, Ellis hit a double, and Sullins hit a triple,” said Parker. “So our hits tonight were big hits.

“For the surface we had, I was just happy to get the game in with as much rain as we had.”

South Jones and Wayne County were scheduled to play the early game inside The Jungle, but field conditions were fixed by the scheduled game time, so it was canceled.

Next Up:

Northeast Jones will face Richton again this Friday night on the road. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.