After early frustration, Sox make most of opportunities in 10-2 win over Conway NBMC
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
By Rob Patrick
When the Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion team only got one run in the first inning, it looked like it might be a frustrating night against the Conway NBMC team.
They got the run when Evan Jobe led off the bottom of the first with a walk, took second on a wild pitch and, after Lucas Castleberry beat out an infield hit, Dylan Pritchett doubled to right center. With no one out, the Sox had runners at second and third — a chance for a big inning. But Conway right-hander Wade Beck retired the next three batters to get out of the inning with no further damage.
The Sox, however, would get other opportunities and make more of them on the way to a 10-2 win.[more]
Pritchett and Caleb Milam combined to limit Conway to three hits — two of them in the inning in which the visitors scored their two runs. The game ended with two out in the bottom of the sixth on the 8-after-5 run rule when the Sox expanded the lead to eight runs.
The win improved Bryant to 6-3 this season with a doubleheader at Texarkana set for Saturday afternoon. A twinbill against Hope on Sunday was cancelled.
Pritchett took a no-hitter into the fourth inning. Chris Rega walked to start the inning for Conway then Kirby Powell hit a fly to right that Bryant’s Brodie Nixon lost in the sun. If fell for a single. Beck followed with a double that chased both of them home.
But Pritchett forced Conway to strand Beck at second when he retired the next three on a pair of strikeouts and a pop to Tyler Brown at second.
By then, the Sox had plated three more runs. In the bottom of the third, Castleberry reached on a throwing error, Pritchett walked and Brady Butler was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Landon Pickett who came through with a two-run double. Butler scored too when a throw to third from left was wild.
After Conway cut it to 4-2 in the top of the fourth, the Sox got three more in the home half of the inning. Tyler Gattin singled up the middle to start the uprising. Jobe walked and Castleberry laced a shot just inside the bag at first and into the right-field corner for a two-run triple. Pritchett’s sacrifice fly brought Castleberry home and Bryant’s lead was 7-2.
Milam relieved in the top of the fifth and surrendered a single to Ashton Robinson. He fanned Tanner Stevenson and got Matt Lowe to fly to center but a walk to Rega and an error allowing Powell to reach had the bases loaded for Beck again. This time, however, Milam got the clean-up hitter to ground to Castleberry at third who stepped on the third-base bag for an inning-ending force.
Beck worked around a one-out error in the bottom of the inning but then Milam eased through a 1-2-3 sixth.
Jobe singled to start the game-ending outburst in the home sixth. With one out, Pritchett was hit by a pitch. With runners at first and second and two down, Pickett singled in another run, Milam looped an RBI single to right and Brown ended the game with a shot up the middle to drive in Pickett.
BLACK SOX 10, CONWAY NBMC 2
Conway Bryant
abrhbi abrhbi
Lowe, 2b 2 0 0 0 Jobe, cf 2 3 1 0
Rega, cf 0 1 0 0 Castleberry, 3b 4 2 2 2
Powell, c 3 1 1 0 Pritchett, p-dh 1 2 1 2
Beck, p 3 0 1 2 Butler, lf-1b 3 1 0 0
Spangler, 1b 3 0 0 0 Pickett, c 4 1 2 3
Nail, 3b 3 0 0 0 Milam, 1b-p 3 0 1 1
Hogue, ss 3 0 0 0 Brown, 2b 4 0 1 1
Robinson, lf 2 0 1 0 Nixon, rf 3 0 0 0
Stevenson, rf 2 0 0 0 Gattin, ss 3 1 1 0
Jackson, lf0000
Totals 21 2 3 2 Totals 27 10 9 9
Conway 000 200 — 2
BRYANT 103 303 — 10
E—Nail 2, Robinson, Castleberry. DP—Bryant 1. LOB—Conway 5, Bryant 7. 2B—Pritchett, Beck. 3B—Castleberry. SB—Lowe, Castleberry. SF—Pritchett.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
Conway
Beck (L) 5.2 10 9 9 4 6
Bryant
Pritchett (W) 4 2 2 2 2 6
Milam 2 0 0 1 1 1
HBP—Butler, Pritchett (by Beck), Rega (by Pritchett). WP—Beck.
