AHOSKIE – Hertford County High School scored a run in the bottom of the fourth frame to break open a 4-4 tie with Ridgecroft School.

That mark helped the Bears go on to a 6-4 victory in the season opener for both teams.

The Rams opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the first frame.

Miles Harrell singled to right and went to second on a wild pitch. He advanced to third on a Brian Outlaw infield single. When Outlaw tried to steal second, the throw to get him sailed into the outfield, scoring Harrell and sending Outlaw to third. Outlaw then scored on a wild pitch to give Ridgecroft a 2-0 lead.

The Bears came back with one run in the bottom of the inning.

Tyler Burden reached on an error before Marvin Harrell and Daniel Merritt drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. After Burden was forced out at home, Harrell scored when Tyler Pryor was hit by a pitch.

Hertford County tied the game in the bottom of the second when Brandon Staton reached on an error, stole second and scored on a Tyler Burden RBI-single to right.

Ridgecroft surged ahead in the top of the third when they scored two more runs.

Chase Riddick reached on a dropped third strike and moved to second on a wild pitch. Riddick then scored when Miles Harrell reached on a two-base error.

Harrell moved to third on wild pitch and scored on another errant pitch to give the Rams a 4-2 lead.

HCHS plated two in the bottom of the third to deadlock the score. Brandon Warren and Pryor hit back-to-back solo homeruns over the left field fences to tie the game.

Hertford County then took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth frame. Burden reached on an error and scored on a Marvin Harrell RBI-double to right-centerfield.

The Bears scored their final run in the bottom of the fifth frame. Warren and Pryor had singles to left and Warren came around to score on a Petey Boone RBI-double to right giving the Bears a 6-4 lead.

Warren pitched a complete game for the Bears, allowing four runs on four hits while recording 15 strikeouts.

Braxton Sumner went three and two-thirds for the Rams allowing four runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Miles Harrell tossed the final two and one-third innings, suffering the loss while allowing two runs on four hits.

The Bears had seven total hits in the game with Warren and Pryor recording two each. Harrell, Boone and Burden each had one hit.

Ridgecroft had four hits with Miles Harrell leading the way with two. Outlaw and Blake Sumner had the other two hits.

“Brandon pitched an excellent game for us,” said HCHS skipper Chris Towell. “We played hard and didn’t give up when we fell behind. We had a couple of guys who were playing out of position. It is always good to get that first win.”

Rams’ coach Brandon Hodges was also pleased.

“We battled all night,” he said. “We made a couple of errors that hurt us, but all in all we are getting better. I am proud of how we played.”

Hertford County is 1-0 and will play at Northampton County High School – East today (Tuesday) at 4:30 p.m. and will play at SouthWest Edgecombe Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.