Hornets blast Rockets in break from conference
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
BRYANT TIMES
LITTLE ROCK — The Bryant Hornets and the Little Rock Catholic Rockets got to relax a little as they took a break from the rigors of conference action Monday with a game at Lamar Porter Field.
They were, perhaps, a little too relaxed as they combined for 13 errors. Bryant took better advantage to post a 13-5 win as Matt Brown and Beau Hamblin each drove in four runs.
Bryant head coach Terry Harper used the opportunity to get some work for four different pitchers. Junior lefty Cody Dreher picked up the win with two innings of one-hit relief of starter Scott Yant.
Nathan Bender, the first of four Rockets pitchers, absorbed the loss.
The win improved the Hornets to 16-7 overall. They took a 3-1 mark in AAAAA-South Conference play into Tuesday’s game at home against Sheridan. Catholic is 9-9.
Four of Catholic’s runs were accounted for by catcher Richard O’Brien who cracked a pair of two-run homers after Bryant had established a firm lead.
After Yant worked a pair of scoreless innings, the Hornets grabbed the lead in the third. They needed just one hit to score four times. Derik Chambers was issued a lead-off walk, Zach Martin sacrificed him to second then Matt White reached on an error. A walk to Brandon Nichols loaded the bases. Dustin Morris picked up an RBI when he was hit by a pitch.
Brown’s bouncer to third resulted in a force out at the plate bu Hamblin followed with a two-run single up the middle to make it 3-0. Brown then swiped third and with Matt Lewis at the plate, Hamblin broke from first and got caught in a rundown. When Brown broke for the plate, Catholic second baseman Casey Dwyer unleashed a wild throw home as Brown crossed the plate.
Dreher pitched around a pair of Bryant errors in the fourth and the Hornets added to their advantage with a three-run fifth. Singles by Nichols and Morris set the table for Brown, who blasted a long home run to left.
Catholic answered with three in the bottom of the inning highlighted by O’Brien’s first dinger off Kevin Littleton, who’s been battling back from shoulder soreness.
Morris launched a solo homer to center with two down in the top of the sixth. Brown looped a single to right, advanced on a wild pickoff throw and scored when Hamblin cracked a double to the base of the fence in center.
Littleton worked around an error and a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth with a big helping hand from center fielder Matt White. Catholic’s Brad Handloser hit a long fly to left-center. White, shading Handloser to right, sprinted across the unusual undulating outfield at the base of a steep rise in dead center. When he hit the rise, he lost his footing and fell but somehow still reached up and stabbed Handloser’s drive to end the inning.
Catholic’s eighth error led to a four-run seventh for the Hornets. Lewis reached base and, an out later, Chambers slapped his second hit of the game to left, bringing Lewis home.
Martin’s bad-hop single past the shortstop kept the inning going. White then walked to load the bases. Nichols drew a free pass to force in a run, making it 11-3.
Martin was forced out at the plate on a tap to third by Morris but walks to Brown and Hamblin forced in the final two tallies.
With Lewis on the mound, Catholic’s Nick Kelley sliced a double to right with one out in the bottom of the seventh. O’Brien followed with his second tater.
Unfazed, Lewis got Chad Siebold to pop to Morris at second and Adam Hall to bounce to Chambers at first to end the game.
