Hornets rally by Cats, pull into tie for third
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
There’s something about coming from behind to win that can give a team a boost of energy and momentum that resounds for days, even weeks. In fact, the last time the Bryant Hornets did it in a wild 12-11 game at White Hall, it started a seven-game winning streak.
If they repeat that feat after they rallied from behind to disappoint the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats on Wednesday, April 23, they’ll be playing for a State championship.
First things first, however.
The win over North Little Rock was vital to Bryant earning as high a seed for State as possible. They pulled into a virtual tie for third in the 7A-Central with the Wildcats, going into the final two weeks of the regular season. (Bryant improved to 7-4 in league play, North Little Rock dropped to 6-4.)
The Hornets finish up with three home games against Little Rock Central on Tuesday, April 29, against league co-leader Little Rock Catholic on Thursday, May 1, and against Pine Bluff (the team closest behind Bryant) on Monday, May 4.
With Catholic and Conway tied for the league lead with one loss each, getting into the hunt for a conference title may be too much to hope for the Hornets. Though it doesn’t garner a first-round bye at State (which will be held at Burns Park this year), third would be a good spot for the Hornets to finish if they can hold onto it.
Beating North Little Rock for a second time this season gives them a tie-breaker advantage over the Wildcats too.
This time, the Hornets trailed 4-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning and it looked a little like another edition of the games they’d played during a stretch in which they’d absorbed four losses in five games. Fielding miscues instigated both of North Little Rock’s two-run innings.
But Bryant rallied to tie the game in the sixth, finally getting to North Little Rock right-hander Kyle Thompson with five hits in the inning.
Tyler Sawyer, on in relief of starter Trent Daniel, held the Wildcats in the top of the seventh to set up the game-winning uprising in the bottom of the inning that Sawyer, himself, capped off with a drive to deep center that chased David Guarno home with the game-winner.
Guarno had opened the inning with a single to left that was momentarily bobbled in the outfield allowing Guarno to hustle into second. Daniel, who already had two hits in the game, was issued an intentional walk to set up force situations at second and third. Thompson then struck out Cody Walker and got two strikes in on Sawyer before the game-winning shot over center fielder Brian Bryles’ head.
The Hornets ended up out-hitting the Wildcats 12-8 but Thompson had held them without a hit over the first three innings. Daniel broke up the no-no with a one-out single in the fourth and Walker singled too but Thompson got out of the inning.
In the fifth, however, Jordan Knight led off with a solo homer, his first of the season, providing the spark the Hornets needed, cutting the lead to 2-1. Though Thompson worked around singles by Nick Suggs and Jake Jackson, the Hornets got it going in the sixth.
That came after North Little Rock responded with two more runs in the top of the inning, however. An error opened the door allowing Thompson to reach base. Daniel struck out the next two batters but then Andrew Pelkey slapped a single to right to drive in a run. Cody Grace followed with a drive to left-center that went for an RBI triple.
Daniel and North Little Rock lead-off man Kell Crain engaged in a battle after that. Crain fouled off three two-strike pitches then lashed a liner that looked like it might go for an RBI single but Jackson, the Bryant second sacker, speared it for the third out, leaving Grace stranded at third.
Bryant’s sixth began with a base hit up the middle by Daniel. Walker beat out an infield hit after being robbed of extra bases on a lunging stop by North Little Rock’s Hunter Benton. Sawyer sacrificed the runners to second and third then Knight came through with a two-run single to right-center that made it 4-3.
Knight swiped second and advanced to third on a two-out infield hit by Suggs and scored on a shot up the middle by Jackson to tie it.
Clark Sims greeted Sawyer with an infield hit to start the top of the seventh but, after Bryles fanned, catcher Kaleb Jobe gunned Sims down as he tried to steal. It was a bang-bang play and drew an argument from the North Little Rock coaches but the play stood. Sawyer got Benton to pop out to Drew Ransdell behind first base, setting up Bryant’s game-winning rally in the bottom of the inning.
