SMYRNA — The hits just kept coming in the fifth and sixth innings.

And the Dover High baseball team wasn’t about to let up.

“Once we start something up we want to keep going,” said sophomore first baseman Mike Carrington. “We don’t want to stop. Why stop?”

The Senators combined for 12 runs in the fifth and the sixth as they defeated Smyrna High 13-1 Tuesday in a game featuring two teams expected to contend for the Henlopen Conference Northern Division championship.

With the win, Dover improved to 4-0 despite losing most of its starting lineup from last season’s semifinal squad. The Senators reloaded with a mix of veterans who are first-time starters and some talented underclassmen.

“I think we proved a lot,” said senior shortstop Jared Hickox. “This proves to the conference and the state that we’re not young. We’re a strong team and we’re ready to be here and we’re ready to fight.”

Both teams struggled for offense early on with Dover freshman Dom Valezquez and Smyrna sophomore Garrett Casey holding their opponents to one run each in the first four innings.

Smyrna’s run came on an errant pickoff throw and Dover responded with a run on a sacrifice fly.

But the floodgates opened in the fifth. The Senators batted around and scored seven runs before adding another five the following inning.

Carrington paced the Senators with a 3-for-4 day and three RBI. Hickox knocked in a pair while Jarvis Worthy reached base in every plate appearance and scored twice.

“We talk about putting a crooked number up and see what happens,” said Dover coach Dave Gordon. “We did that and the game was ours.”

“It was a pitchers duel for the first four,” Gordon added. “I thought their pitcher threw great. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him throw and he was pounding it. He’s a sophomore so it definitely looks like he has a bright future.”

The fifth inning started with Cam Turner’s infield hit followed by a rip to centerfield by Hiram Davis before Worthy walked to load the bases.

That’s when Hickox bounced a single into center to score two for a 3-1 Dover lead. Carrington then hit a soft liner up the middle to plate another run.

Avery Tunnell extended the Dover advantage with a two-RBI single. Noah Lanouette belted a ground-rule double to left to bring another run around to cap the scoring in the fifth.

A double by Hickox and a single by Carrington which knocked in two highlighted Dover’s five-run sixth.

“We got a few guys on base and had some great situations to get some base hits in,” Hickox said. “Once we got those base hits in, momentum just started favoring our way. We just kept adding on and adding on.”