AHOSKIE – Brandon Warren tossed a four-hitter and also hit a two-run homer here Tuesday afternoon.

Warren led Hertford County High School to an 8-1 baseball victory over SouthWest Edgecombe in the season opener for both teams.

“This was a good opening win,” HCHS skipper Chris Towell said. “We got timely hits and were solid defensively. We showed a lot of hustle and ran the bases well.

“Brandon pitched a good game,” he added. “He got ahead of the batters.”

The Bears opened the scoring with four runs in the bottom of the third inning.

Tyler Burden singled to center and moved all the way to third on a Marvin Harrell double to right-center field.  Both runners scored on a Daniel Merritt two-run single to center.

Warren then belted his two-run dinger that gave HCHS a 4-0 lead after three complete innings of play.

HCHS added another pair in the bottom of the fourth frame.

Harrell singled to left and went to second on a balk. He then moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring when Merritt reached on a dropped third strike.

Merritt stole second and then scored when Warren reached on an error to give Hertford County a 6-0 lead after four innings.

The Cougars scored their only run in the fifth frame and closed the gap to 6-1.

Hertford County added two more in the bottom of the sixth stanza.

Burden singled to left, stole second and scored on a Harrell RBI-single to center.

Harrell went to second on the throw home and scored when Merritt reached on an error to give the Bears an 8-1 lead.

The home team went on to victory by that same margin.

Warren (1-0) pitched all seven innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out nine.

Harrell led the Bears offensively with three of the team’s eight hits. Burden had two hits. Merritt and Warren each had one hit and a pair of RBIs. Petey Boone added the other hit.

HCHS is 1-0 overall and will play at Gates County Friday at 4:30 p.m.