BENTON — From 17 teams down to three and, despite losing to the White Hall All-Stars in their first game, the Bryant 14-year-old All-Stars are among them.
The Babe Ruth State tournament at Holland Park is down to Bryant, Little Rock Junior Deputy and White Hall, the team that tested Bryant last summer before Bryant’s Stars prevailed on its way to a World Series championship. White Hall, which handed Bryant that opening loss on Saturday, 10-3, is in the championship round awaiting the winner of a game between Bryant and Junior Deputy in the losers bracket final. Bryant and Junior Deputy are set to play Tuesday at 4 p.m., with the winner playing White Hall afterwards hoping to force a winner-take-all finale on Wednesday at 6.
Bryant will host the Southwest Regional beginning Aug. 7, so, along with Bryant and Benton, either White Hall or Junior Deputy, whichever lasts longest at State, will be on hand. A north Arkansas champion will also be involved along with champions from Louisiana, Mississippi, East Texas, South Texas and West Texas.
In the losers bracket at State, meanwhile, Bryant survived by ousting Pine Bluff-Seabrook, 5-1, and Benton, 10-0, on Sunday then Lonoke, 13-7, and El Dorado, 10-0, on Monday.
The Bryant 14-year-old All-Stars, coached by Jimmy Parker with assistance from Tony Ethridge and B.J. Wood, include Zach Cambron, Evan Castleberry, Hayden Daniel, Josh Davis, Evan Etheridge, Tyler Green, Riley Hall, Blain Jackson, Tyler Nelson, Cameron Price, Daniel Richards, Trent Rivers, Tryce Schalchlin, Justin Vincent and Marcus Wilson.[more]
Bryant 10, El Dorado 0
Daniel and Schalchlin combined on a no-hitter Monday evening. El Dorado made a bid for a hit with one out in the fifth but the runner on first, after holding up on the blooper to see if it’d be caught, was thrown out at second by Rivers from center field, turning a would-be hit into a fielder’s choice.
In four innings, Daniel walked two and hit a batter while striking out seven. At one point, he set down nine in a row.
In the fifth, Schalchlin issued a pair of walks but, aided by Rivers’ play, preserved the shutout.
Bryant led just 1-0 after three innings but blew the game up with seven in the fourth fueled by five walks.
The first run scored in the third when Nelson beat out a bunt single, moved up on a groundout by Wilson, was bunted to third by Richards and scored on a single by Green.
Price started the big inning with a walk and ended it with a two-run single to center. In between, Rivers walked and Davis bunted into a force at third. Castleberry singled in Rivers to make it 2-0 and Daniel walked to load the bases. With two down, Wilson reached on an error as a run scored then walks to Richards and Green forced in runs ahead of Price’s capper.
The ninth and 10th runs scored in the fifth when Jackson was hit by a pitch, Daniel and Nelson walked and Cambron, pinch-hitting for Wilson, slugged a two-run double to end the game.
Bryant 13, Lonoke 7
After spotting Lonoke a 3-0 lead in the first, Bryant scored in every inning on the way to the victory.
After the rough start, Vincent settled in and worked two scoreless innings then a third in which he allowed one more run. Bryant went through three pitchers in a Lonoke’s three-run fifth before Daniel got the final out then finished with two scoreless innings.
Wilson launched three doubles and a triple to lead the offense. Green added three hits including a pair of two-baggers.
Trailing 3-0, Bryant picked up a run in the bottom of the first on the first of those doubles by Wilson then Green.
In the second, Bryant surged into the lead with three of its own. Davis started the uprising with a two-out double and, after Daniel was hit by a pitch, Nelson beat out a bunt single to load the bases for Wilson. A shot to center produced Wilson’s second double, clearing the bases.
A four-run third built the lead up to 8-3. Price reached second when his drive to center was misplayed to start the inning. He would scored on a sacrifice fly by Vincent. With two down, Davis drew a walk to get things started again. Daniel doubled him home. Nelson beat out a bunt single, getting Daniel to third and, after he stole second, Wilson chased them both home with double No. 3, giving him five RBIs in the game.
Lonoke trimmed a run off the margin in the top of the fourth on a walk and a pair of singles. But Bryant trumped that with two more in the bottom of the frame. Green doubled and, with one out, Rivers singled. A double steal got Green home and, moments later, Rivers came home on a wild pitch.
Lonoke’s fifth was fueled by a hit batsman, a single, a walk and an outfield error that produced two runs. A trio of walks forced in the third tally before Daniel got the final out on a tap back to the mound.
The margin had been cut to 10-7 but Bryant added a run in the bottom of the fifth when Wilson tripled with two out and scored on a single by Green.
Daniel worked around a pair of lead-off walks in the sixth with the help of a doubleplay started by Richards at third, who stepped on the bag and threw to first.
Bryant’s sixth produced two more runs. Hall walked, Jackson singled and, after Hall scored on a passed ball, Jackson came home on a groundout by Daniel to make it 13-7.
Lonoke managed to get a runner aboard in the top of the seventh thanks to a two-out error but Daniel got the final out on a pop up to Green at first.
Bryant 10, Benton 0
Wilson, with fifth-inning relief from Hall, pitched a three-hit shutout as Bryant ended the host team’s run in the tournament.
A five-run first got Bryant off on the right foot. Daniel walked to open the game and, after swiping second, scored on a single to center by Nelson. Wilson walked and, after Richards sacrificed runners to second and third, Green singled in a run. He swiped second and scored on Wilson’s heels when Price cracked a single to center. Price eventually got to third and he scored from there on a sacrifice fly by Ethridge to make it 5-0.
In the bottom of the inning, Benton loaded the bases on a trio of singles with one out. But Wilson got the next batter to pop to Jackson, his catcher, and escaped unscathed when the next batter bounced to Richards at third for a force out.
Daniel walked again, stole second and scored on another single by Nelson to make it 6-0 in the second.
It stayed that way until the fourth when four more scored for Bryant. Ethridge singled to spark the uprising. An out later, Davis was hit by a pitch. Daniel singled in a run and Nelson walked to load the bases for Wilson who doubled in a pair. Cambron’s single chased Wilson home with the 10th run.
Wilson had worked around a trio of walks in the third then pitched through a two-out single in the fourth. Hall took over in the fifth and walked the first two he faced before setting down the next three to complete the whitewash.
Bryant 5, Pine Bluff Seabrook 1
Nelson went the distance on the mound allowing a lone run in the first. He allowed just four hits while striking out 10, walking one and hitting two batters.
He also contributed two hits as did Daniel, Wilson, and Richards as Bryant scored single runs in each at bat except in the fourth inning.
Pine Bluff’s run came on a hit batsman, a stolen base, a one-out single and a wild pitch.
Nelson hit another batter with two out in the second but then started a stretch in which he and the Bryant defense retired nine in a row.
Pine Bluff threatened in the fifth and sixth. In the fifth, a two-out walk, a stolen base and a single had runners at the corners when Nelson got the third out on a bouncer back to the mound.
In the sixth, a lead-off single and a one-out single had runners at first and third but Nelson picked off the runner at first then got a strikeout to end the threat.
He worked a 1-2-3 seventh.
Bryant tied the game in the bottom of the first. Daniel singled and stole second then third but was thrown out at the plate when he tried to score on Nelson’s bouncer to first.
But Wilson singled Nelson to third and he scored from there on a grounder to second by Richards.
In the second, Bryant took the lead when Schalchlin reached on a third-strike wild pitch with two down then Jackson and Daniel singled to bring him around.
Green singled and scored in the third to make it 3-1.
Nelson’s second single started the fifth. Wilson and Richards then both beat out bunts for hits and Green delivered a sacrifice fly.
The final run scored in the home sixth. Rivers beat out another bunt for a single to start the inning. He swiped second and, after Davis was hit by a pitch, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Daniel’s sacrifice fly.
White Hall 10, Bryant 3
In what Parker termed a wake-up call for his team, Bryant undermined its own effort by issuing 14 walks and hitting three batters. White Hall took advantage by slugging a pair of home runs including a grand slam that capped off a five-run fourth that snapped a scoreless tie.
Bryant whittled two runs off the margin in the bottom of the fourth. Nelson singled and Wilson belted a ground-rule double. Daniel picked up an RBI with a ground out, as did Green. Ethridge doubled but was stranded.
It stayed 5-2 until the top of the sixth when, after two were out, a pair of walks were issued ahead of the second home run. The three-run shot made it 8-2.
Bryant responded again in the bottom of the inning but got just one when Nelson doubled, Wilson singled and Green delivered a sacrifice fly.
A solo homer in the top of the seventh made it 9-3. A single followed and, with one down, a force out got Bryant within an out of ending the inning but a walk and hit batsman loaded the bases. The final run scored on an error.
Bryant went quietly in the bottom of the seventh and their trek through the losers bracket began.
