Bats come alive for Senior Sox, key victory over McClendon’s
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).
BENTON — After managing just three hits (and still winning) in their season opener on Monday, the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion manager Darren Hurt wanted to see a little more offense from his guys on Tuesday when they opened Zone play against Benton McClendon’s at Bernard Holland Park’s Bill Perry Field.
The Sox came through, pounding out 10 hits to go with some loud outs, on the way to an 9-3 victory.
“I loved our aggression at the plate,” Hurt said. “At times, it was a little too aggressive. We took some hacks at some pitches that were in the dirt. But I thought we took advantage of counts that were in our favor a few times and squared some balls up. Offensively, I was real happy.
“Even the bunt game, when we did lay down the bunts — I thought we were very productive at the plate.”
Logan Chambers had three hits and drove in three while Gage Stark and Myers Buck added two hits each.
Buck picked up the win on the mound, pitching in and out of trouble. He allowed just one run on two hits but walked seven, six in the first three of his five innings. Cade Drennan finished, with the hay in the barn, surrendered a pair of runs in the seventh.
Hurt acknowledged Buck was shaking off a little rust.
“And I think the other thing is he’s just got to get his confidence up,” the manager said. “I came close (to pulling him) one inning because his pitch count got so high, but I want him to work out of his own jams. He’s got to be able to do that and he did it. Then, his last two innings were a lot smoother. I think once he gets his confidence, I think he’s going to be fine.”
The game was scoreless through three innings. The Sox left a runner aboard in each frame. Jake Wright walked in the first, Stark singled in the second and Chambers doubled in the third.
Meanwhile, Buck eased through an 11-pitch first. In the second, he walked Conner Pinkerton and Braden Carmen. With Logan Black up to sacrifice, the Sox worked a play with Logan Catton charging in from third and Chambers, the shortstop, racing to third behind Pinkerton the lead runner. Pinkerton, thinking third was uncovered, tried to steal and Wright threw to Chambers well ahead of the runner arriving.
Almost immediately, Buck made his first pick-off throw and surprised Carmen, picking him off with a throw right into Peyton Dillon’s tag.
Black flew to center to end the inning.
In the home third, Logan Gartin walked but was thrown out trying to steal by Wright. But walks to Andrew Swaim, Adam Sims and Tristan Hutchison loaded the bases. But Buck got J-Red Kelly to fly to Logan Grant in shallow right and induced a pop to Chambers from Beau Brewer to end the threat.
Benton manager Brandon Wake, limiting pitchers in the first game of the summer, pulled starter Swaim in the fourth. Yates Prickett relieved and hit Dillon with a 2-2 pitch, starting Bryant’s game-breaking six-run uprising.
Stark singled up the middle then Catton, who had already sacrificed in the second, placed a bunt perfectly and beat it out for a hit. Grant followed with a grounder to third. Pinkerton charged and fired home, but the throw skipped in to Junior Acosta, the catcher, hitting the lip of the grass and getting away.
Buck followed with a long drive down the right-field line that just continued to carry, winding up just out of the reach of Gartin. Because the runners were tagging in case of a catch, Buck only got a single, but two runs scored, and Grant wound up at third.
Noah Davis tried to get a safety squeeze down but, with two strikes, fouled it off for the first out of the frame.
“I ended up giving him a two-strike bunt,” Hurt acknowledged. “He didn’t get that one down but, with one strike, he laid one down that, on a normal field, would’ve gotten the job done.”
But the scoring resumed when, on an 0-2 count, Chambers slapped a single to left-center, making it 4-0.
Coby Greiner’s bunt single loaded the bases. Wright blooped a 3-1 pitch into shallow right that fell when the McClendon’s fielders couldn’t determine who was going to make the catch. But they got a force on Greiner at second as Buck scored.
With Chambers at third, Wright stole second. A wild pitch allowed Chambers to score the sixth run.
Benton managed its first hit and run in the bottom of the inning. Pinkerton doubled to right and, with one out, Black ripped a double to left-center.
But Buck fanned Gartin and got Prickett to fly to Greiner in center to keep it 6-1.
Kelly relieved in the fifth and the Sox tacked on three. Catton was struck by a pitch with one away. He took second on a wild pitch and stole third before Buck came through with a two-out, two-strike single to center.
Davis fanned on a pitch in the dirt and reached on the wild pitch as Buck took second. That brought up Chambers who blasted a double to right-center that drove both home to set the final score.
In the bottom of the fifth, Buck issued a one-out walk to Hutchinson, who advanced on a wild pitch then tagged to go to third on Kelly’s fly to center. Greiner’s throw to third was late but, on appeal, Hutchinson was called out for leaving second too early.
The controversy that caused was countered in the top of the sixth. Wright doubled then Dillon struck out on a pitch in the dirt. Acosta, got to the ball and threw to first in time to retire Dillon. Wright took off for third and was thrown out on the relay from Sims on a bang-bang play.
Hurt didn’t like that call and he was even more upset after Stark was punched out on a third strike that appeared to be wide and down.
Drennan took over on the mound in the bottom of the sixth and pitched around a hit batsman and a two-out infield hit by Black.
In the seventh, Greiner robbed Prickett of a hit, but Sims doubled, Hutchinson walked again and, with two away, Brewer and Pinkerton each came up with RBI singles. Drennan got Carmen to tap to Catton for a force at third to end the game.
The Sox will return to action on Friday with a pair of games at home against Morrilton, starting at 6 p.m. The twinbill and a single game on Saturday at 2 p.m., were added to the schedule this week.
