PIGGOTT — With a 3-1 win over the Pine Bluff Western All-Stars, the Bryant 12-and-under Stars forced a winner-take-all final at the Little League Baseball State Tournament on Wednesday night. But Bryant’s shot at the State title was thwarted as Pine Bluff jumped out early in the title game on the way to a 9-0 win and a trip to the Little League Regional Tournament in Waco, Texas.
Bryant’s team, managed by Greg Riggs with assistance from Scott Allison and Matt Orender, includes Aiden Adams, Kannon Allison, Tyler Bates, Austin Ledbetter, Hunter Littleton, Conner Martin, Cameron McDonald, Justin Orender, Hart Penfield, Ryan Riggs, Blaine Sears, Brandon Thomisee and Joshua Turner.
Bryant 3, Pine Bluff 1
Adams pitched a three hitter and shut out Pine Bluff until the bottom of the sixth. Pine Bluff picked up its run and had the potential tying run at the plate with one out. But Adams struck out the next two batters on three pitches each to nail down the win in dramatic fashion.
Bryant finished with just one hit itself but it came at a key moment. Clinging to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, Adams was plunked by a pitch and McDonald walked. A wild pitch allowed both to move up a base then Ledbetter beat out an infield hit that drove in Bates, who was the courtesy runner for Adams.
With one down, Penfield hit a grounder to second. Pine Bluff got a force at second but Penfield hustled to reach first in time to avoid the inning-ending doubleplay as McDonald scored to make it 3-0.
Bryant’s first run came in the opening frame. Adams walked, took second on a passed ball, moved to third on Ledbetter’s groundout then scored when Penfield’s grounder to third was booted.
An error, a hit batsman and a passed ball had runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the inning but Adams got the next batter to ground out to Turner at third to keep it 1-0.
Adams pitched around an error in the second and a one-out single (Pine Bluff’s first hit of the game) in the fourth. In the sixth, Ledbetter reached on an error for Bryant but was stranded.
Pine Bluff’s sixth began with its second and third hits of the game. The runners moved up on a groundout to Penfield at second. A wild pitch allowed the run to score and the trailing runner to take third before Adams ended it with back-to-back K’s.
Pine Bluff 9, Bryant 0
Bryant was shut out on three hits, one ach by McDonald, Turner and Allison. Pine Bluff grabbed a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first, added two in the third and three in the fourth to make it 9-0.
Bryant had a chance to get on the board first when McDonald singled to center with one out, took second on Ledbetter’s groundout and third on a wild pitch.
After Pine Bluff took its initial lead, Bryant threatened again in the top of the second. Riggs walked with one out then Orender reached on an error. Riggs went to third on the play then tried to score on a passed ball but the Pine Bluff catcher hustled after it and he was tagged out.
McDonald walked but a strikeout ended the inning.
Turner singled in the fourth but was forced at second to end the inning. Allison’s single came in the fifth but Pine Bluff turned a doubleplay.
