AHOSKIE – Hobgood Academy scored three runs in the fourth inning and went on to a 7-2 victory over Ridgecroft School here Friday.

The baseball contest between the ninth-seeded Raiders and the eighth-seeded Rams occurred in the opening round of the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association (NCISAA) state baseball playoffs.

Hobgood opened the scoring with one run in the top of the second stanza. That run came on a Cody Perry RBI-single and gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead.

The home-standing Rams responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second.

Bryan Britton reached on an error and then went to third when Patrick Dilday got aboard via a two-base error. Brian Outlaw walked to load the bases.

Britton was able to steal home on a missed squeeze bunt and Dilday scored on a Josh Lane RBI-single to left. Matthew Jones walked and re-loaded the bases, but a flyout ended the inning with the Rams ahead 2-1.

The Raiders then scored three runs in the top of the fourth to take the lead for good.

Tripp Peele had a two-run single and Perry added an RBI-triple as Hobgood surged to a 4-2 lead.

The visiting team added two runs in the top of the fifth on a Peele bases-loaded walk and a Michael Whitehead bases loaded walk.

The final run of the game came when Michael Whitehead delivered an RBI-single in the top of the seventh.

Neal Howard suffered the loss for the Rams, going four and two-thirds of an inning. Britton tossed the final two and one-third innings.

Ridgecroft concluded their season at 13-7 while Hobgood improved to 12-13 and advances to play Lawrence Academy today (Tuesday) at 4 p.m.