ROCKFORD — Hayden Jones was having trouble finding his groove at the plate during an early-morning practice session on Wednesday. Two home runs and three RBIs quickly changed the senior’s attitude when the Rochelle varsity baseball team faced Rockford Boylan on the road Wednesday evening.

Jones put Rochelle on the board with a solo shot in the top of the second inning, and the first baseman added his two-run blast in the fourth inning to bring home junior teammate Gavin Ansteth, who went 4-for-4 with two RBIs in the game. Despite some fielding errors late in the game, the Hubs held on to beat the Titans 9-6 and start their season 1-0 overall.

“We had practice before the game and nothing was going right for me,” Jones said. “I wanted to stay relaxed at the plate instead of getting down on myself. I saw the ball well, and I was able to hit two home runs… I think our team can put the ball all around the field, and if we’re down, it only takes one bat to get us going. I think we have that throughout our lineup.”

The Hubs led 1-0 before Rockford Boylan took advantage of two walks and two wild pitches to score three runs and jump ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning. Jones tied the game at 3-3 with his second homer, and two batters later, senior Noah Knight homered to center to give Rochelle a 4-3 advantage in the top of the fourth inning.

Ansteth and senior Johnny Beck singled to open the sixth inning before Jones walked to load the bases. An error by the Rockford Boylan third baseman allowed Knight to reach base and both Ansteth and Beck to score, making it a 6-3 game in favor of the Hubs. Jones then scored on a two-out single by senior Louie Mancinas.

Trailing 7-3, the Titans bounced back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning behind a single, an error, a walk and a wild pitch. Needing some insurance to solidify their lead, the Hubs scored twice in the top of the seventh when Ansteth crushed a two-run homer to left field, plating senior Brandon Johnson who walked in the previous at-bat.

“It felt good to have a good day and start the season off with a win,” Ansteth said. “I just need to keep doing what I’m doing and get on base so I can have guys below me hit me in. I think we have a chance to go really far, and I think we’re only going to get better.”

Beck threw the first five and one-third innings for Rochelle, striking out 10 batters and allowing only three hits. Beck gave way to Jones, who tossed the final one and two-thirds innings to earn the save. Rockford Boylan plated one run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Titans were unable to complete their comeback. Beck (1-0) earned the win for Rochelle.