The Chapel Hill Tigers were a thorn in the side of the Person Rockets last season, beating the Rockets twice by margins of 7-3 and 5-0.

But Person exacted a little revenge on the Tigers Tuesday evening at Rocket Park by rallying for 10 runs in the fourth and fifth innings and running away with a 12-2 victory — a game that was called in the bottom of the fifth due to the 10-run mercy rule.

It was the Piedmont Athletic Conference opener for both teams. Chapel Hill fell to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the PAC-6, while the Rockets remained perfect at 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

Person head coach Steve Evans admitted that it was crucial for his squad to start off on the right track in conference play, especially against an old nemesis that’s given Person fits in the past.

“It’s important to get that first win and get some momentum going within the league,” he said. “Chapel Hill’s always a well-coached team, and it’s been a long time since we’ve had a lopsided win like this against them. I definitely wouldn’t expect that the next time we play.”

Through the first three and a half innings, it was a tight tussle.

The Tigers tied the contest at 2-2 on an RBI groundout by Julian Pinheiro, but further damage was prevented when Rocket first baseman Shawn Whitt collected a grounder and threw home to nail Erik Backus at the plate.

Person starter and winner Jeremy Peed then induced Brian Elfante to fly out, and the stage was set for some Rocket fireworks during the next two at-bats.

Ten hitters came to the plate in the Rocket fourth against Tiger reliever and eventual loser Craig Gaffney. A combination of three walks, three hits, and one hit batsman led to six runs and an 8-2 bulge.

Ricky Crabtree’s three-run double down the left field line with the bases full was the hit that broke the contest open. It came on the heels of a bases-loaded walk to Peed and a run-scoring single by Trey Davis, who went 4-for-4 on the day.

Later in the inning, a wild pitch brought Crabtree home for Person’s eighth tally.

Evans said his team didn’t show good patience at the plate in the early innings but turned it around in the fourth.

“We came out in that inning and did a good job of hitting. We were hitting like we should have the whole game,” he observed. “In the early innings we were swinging at bad pitches. We showed some plate discipline [in the fourth], where we had runners in scoring position and were able to drive them in. I was pleased to see that.”

Despite collecting three singles off Chapel Hill starter Tuc Hunter in the first inning, the Rockets scored just once when Stephen Wright trotted home from third after Hunter was called for a balk.

Person also loaded the bases with no outs in the third but only got one run out of it when Trey Davis drove in Craig Reid to take a short-lived 2-1 edge.

Peed was not at his best on Tuesday, giving up six hits and two runs with three strikeouts, but it was good enough to notch his second win of the season. He did not walk a batter.

The Rockets sent everyone home early with a four-run barrage in the fifth frame. No outs were committed in the inning.

Reid and Marc Davis came home on Peed’s single to center, Wright scored on a passed ball, and Crabtree launched a long single over the centerfielder’s head to bring home the game-ending tally.

All told, Person smacked 13 hits in the game (its largest total so far this season). Reid, who scored three times and had two hits, and Wright, who reached base in all four of his at-bats, were the table-setters, as they each scored three times.

On defense Person did much to prevent runs. Whitt reached up and robbed Devin Lert of a base hit with a runner on third in the first inning, and right fielder Marc Davis threw out Matt Orocz at home to keep CH off the board in the second

Wright also made a tough back-peddling catch of a pop fly in the fifth.

The Rockets now gear up for a Friday afternoon conference game at Southern Durham (4 p.m. start).

Evans said southpaw Chris Morgan will make his first start of the season against the Spartans.

“I’m expecting him to throw well. He looked good out of the bullpen in his save appearance against Webb,” he said. “So I expect him to be pretty sharp.”

Tuesday also marked the second time Person has scored in double figures this season. The other double-digit performance was the 16-run effort in the season-opener against Cardinal Gibbons.