ROANOKE RAPIDS – Ridgecroft built an early 5-0 lead and cruised to an 8-2 win in the first round of the Halifax Academy Easter Tournament here Wednesday.

The Rams secured their ninth victory in 11 starts by topping Surry County (Virginia).

The Rams led 5-0 going in the bottom of the third when Surry scored their only two runs of the game.

The Rams scored one in the top of the fifth and the final two runs game in the sixth.

The Rams had eight hits, led by Gavin Mizelle, who was 3-for-3 on the afternoon with two doubles. Josh Morris was 2-for-3 with a double.

Recording the other hits were Dustin Baker, Dillon Lowe and Matthew Jones.

Mizelle tossed seven strong innings on the mound and picked up the win. He allowed two runs on five hits while striking out nine.

&uot;We got good pitching by Gavin,&uot; second-year skipper Richard Murray said. &uot;We got key hits and played good defense.&uot;

The Rams are 9-2 and played host Halifax Academy last night (Friday) in the championship contest. The Vikings got to the finals by beating Northeast Academy Wednesday. The game finished too late for press time.