Pounding out 11 hits to go with five walks the Unaka Rangers earned a hard-fought 15-10 Watauga Valley Conference win over Hampton on Monday at Claude Holsclaw Field. Unaka (11-10, 4-4 WVC) should have had a cakewalk win in this one but four Rangers pitchers handed out 11 free passes and the defense committed four errors.

“We hit the ball well, but the pitchers dug us a hole over and over,” Rangers manager Tee Blevins said. “Too many walks and we will get John Boy tomorrow if he is ok, but Joe (Slagle) only threw to the first three batters so we are good for pitching. We just got to come out and throw strikes. The middle of our order has seen the ball well. Maybe not all in the same game though.”

Hampton (5-11, 2-6) struck for a pair of runs in the top of the first with the Bulldogs loading the bases on singles from Weston Street and Parker Henry and a walk to Josh Owens. With freshman Morgan Lyons at the dish, Blevins removed Slagle and brought in John Ramsey.

Two wild pitches from Ramsey plated both Hampton runs but he was able to get out of trouble with strikeouts of Lyons and Hunter Haynes to keep it a 2-0 game. The Rangers came back with five in the last of the frame with Ramsey bashing a double and Bryson Street a run-scoring triple. Third baseman Nick Nunley crushed a two-run double into the gap in left centerfield and Nolan Bradley had an RBI single.

Unaka looked like it would make quick work of the ‘Dogs with six runs in the third to make it an 11-2 contest. In the big inning, Hampton walked in three runs and Street had a two-RBI base hit.

Street came on in relief of Ramsey but had major control problems as he walked five consecutive Bulldog hitters in the top of the fourth as Hampton plated three runs with just one hit to cut the deficit to 11-5 and in the process made the mercy rule not an option.

In the last of the fourth Daniel Shearl had an RBI single and Reid Taylor a two ribbie base knock as Unaka established a 14-5 lead. Shearl came in for Street in the fourth and stemmed the tide in that frame but in the fifth, the ‘Dogs bit him for four runs on three hits with Weston Street good for an RBI hit and Lyons connected on a two-run double as Hampton kept fighting off the mercy rule and made it a 14-9 game.

Each team scored single runs in the sixth with Owens getting a bases-loaded walk to force in a run and in the Unaka half of the frame Shearl had a sacrifice fly RBI. Shearl pitched 3.2 innings giving up five runs (two earned) on five hits. He struck out three and walked two.

Unaka 15-10

Hampton 200 341 0 – 10  8  1

Unaka 506 301 x – 15 11 4

W – Shearl L – Owens