Bryant claws out of loser’s bracket to make State final
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting 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
FORT SMITH — The Bryant Black Sox battled back through the loser’s bracket to gain a chance to repeat as AAA American Legion State champions with victories over the Sylvan Hills Bruins, Searcy Crain Auto and the Maumelle Bulldogs at the State tournament at Crowder Field on the campus of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
The Sox improved to 37-5 and earned a date with Zone 4 rival Pine Bluff Simmons for the title. It’s the third consecutive season for Bryant to play for the State title. In 2004, Fort Smith Kerwins defeated them twice in the title round to snatch away the championship; and, in 2005, the Sox defeated Kerwins to nab the crown.
After losing a second-round State game against Maumelle, 10-8, on Monday, July 31, the Sox came back on Tuesday to knock out Sylvan Hills 16-1. On Wednesday, they ousted Searcy, 10-0, to get another shot at Maumelle in the loser’s bracket finals immediately afterwards. The Sox surged late to end Maumelle’s season, 13-6, setting up a showdown with Pine Bluff, a team Bryant had defeated four of five times during the summer.
“What can I say about these guys,” said Bryant manager Craig Harrison after the comeback win over Maumelle. “All year, they battle and battle and battle. We don’t play good at times but I guarantee one thing, we’re going to play our hearts out.
“We’ve got to win twice (on Saturday) and I don’t know how it’ll turn out but these guys are going to play hard, and play hard to the end,” he added.
Bryant 13, Maumelle 6
Justin Wells, after playing shortstop in the August heat for 15 innings, came in to pitch with a man on and no one out in the top of the seventh after the Sox had erased a 6-5 deficit and grabbed an 8-6 lead. He set down nine of the 10 batters he faced including six on strikeouts to earn his 12th save of the season.
Ryan Wilson, the third Bryant pitcher, picked up the win. He also drove in three runs with a pair of hits in the game. Cory Lambert went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Joey Winiecki had two hits for the Sox.
Maumelle’s Matt Humphrey, who closed out his team’s win over Bryant earlier in the tournament, had the Sox shut out on one hit over the first three innings while the Bulldogs built a 3-0 lead. For the Sox, lefty Casey Grisham started despite having to come out of the tournament opener against Mountain Home after taking a liner off the inside of the thumb of his pitching hand. Though Evan Cox hit a solo homer in the third, the rest of the Maumelle damage came, for the most part, thanks to errors and infield hits.
Bryant came to life offensively in the fourth when a one-out error that allowed Aaron Davidson to reach base created an opening. Devin Hurt doubled Davidson all the way around to break up the shutout, then Lambert doubled to make it 3-2. Lambert went to third on a balk and, after Travis Queck walked and stole second, Wilson rippled a double past third to give the Sox the lead. Tyler Pickett then came through with an RBI single to center.
In the top of the fifth, a hit batter and a single put runners at the corners forcing a pitching change. Humphrey, the lead runner, had, however, apparently missed second base on the way to third. The Sox wanted to appeal but a miscommunication resulted not only in a throw to third instead of second but a bad throw to top it off. Humphrey scored and Scott Cordova went to second. Moments later, Zach Hodges singled to tie the game.
After another pitching change a double and a two-out single gave Maumelle its 6-5 lead.
Bryant tied it in the bottom of the inning when Wells beat out an infield hit, Davidson lined a single to left-center and, with one out, Lambert stroked an RBI single up the middle.
Wilson worked around a pair of hits in the top of the sixth and the Sox took the lead in the bottom of the inning, sparked by Joey Winiecki’s infield hit. A passed ball allowed him to reach second for Danny Riemenschneider who singled in the go-ahead run.
Riemenschneider eventually scored as well when Hurt’s windblown pop behind first was dropped.
Wilson allowed a lead-off single in the seventh and Harrison went to Wells.
“We didn’t really want to use Justin for a three-inning close because he’d been standing out there for 15 innings but he said, ‘Give me the ball,’” Harrison related. “We were already getting ready to pitch to the next hitter when he gave me the thumbs up and Tic said, ‘Go get him.’”
It became a little less tense when the Sox added five runs in the eighth with the help of a trio of errors by the demoralized Bulldogs. Lambert doubled and Wilson singled in a run during the inning.
Bryant 10, Searcy 0
Lambert, roughed up by Maumelle in the earlier loss, came back to pitch a gem in the win over Searcy, scattering six hits over eight innings, walking two and fanning eight. Alex Kehrees struck out the side in the bottom of the 10th to close out the win.
Bryant mashed out 18 hits including three by Davidson. Winiecki, Lambert and Wilson each drove in two.
The Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second when Hurt and Queck drew walks around a single by Lambert. Hurt scored when Queck was forced at second on a grounder by Wilson then Winiecki rifled a single up the middle to drive in Lambert.
In the third, Wells singled, Davidson doubled and Hurt drove in Wells with a bloop double. Lambert’s sacrifice fly made it 4-0 and, with two down, Grisham and Winiecki came through with RBI singles.
After Lambert pitched out of a first-and-third jam in the bottom of the third, the Sox added another run when Riemenschneider walked, Davidson reached on a two-out error and Lambert singled.
In the sixth, Wells singled, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Davidson’s base hit. Riemenscheider added to the lead in the eighth with a solo homer. In the ninth, Queck doubled and scored on a single by Wilson to set the final score.
Bryant 16, Sylvan Hills 1
Winiecki, Wells and Davidson all had three hits as the Sox pummeled Sylvan Hills in seven innings with Riemenschneider going the distance for the win.
Winiecki lacked only a triple and Wells only a double to hit for the cycle in the game. Their home runs punctuated the victory. Wells hit his with two down in the bottom of the first. Winiecki’s was a three-run shot that completed the scoring in the bottom of the seven-run sixth.
Sylvan Hills’ lone run tied the game in the top of the second. A bunt single, a stolen base and a two-out hit produced it.
Bryant regained the advantage in the bottom of the second. Lambert walked but was forced on a grounder to short by Queck who got to second on an errant relay to first. Wilson and Gaddy drew walks to load the bases. Winieck drove in a run with a groundout then Riemenschneider belted a double to drive in two, making it 4-1.
It stayed that way until the fifth. Wells began a five-run uprising with a single. After Davidson doubled and Hurt was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Lambert singled in a run and Queck walked to force in another. Wilson greeted a new pitcher with a sacrifice fly and, with two down, Winiecki doubled in a run. Queck made it 9-0 when he scored on a wild pitch.
After the Sox turned their third doubleplay of the game to end the top of the sixth, Wells blasted a triple to center to open the floodgates in the bottom of the inning. Davidson singled him home. Lambert singled and Queck doubled to drive in Davidson. Wilson greeted another new pitcher with a two-run single and, after Gaddy drew a walk, Winiecki unloaded for his first homer of the season.
Riemenschneider issued just his second walk in the top of the seventh but pitched around it to close out the win.
