The Sheridan Shelby Taylor team has kind of been the Cinderella of the 2020 Junior American Legion State Tournament. Though mostly 15-year-olds, they had won their first two games over a group of Lake Hamilton 15’s then against a 17U Crossett team to advance to the semifinals of the winners’ bracket.
But it struck midnight for the young squad as the Bryant Black Sox broke early on the way to a 12-4 victory at Bryant High School Field on Wednesday night.
The Sox won their third game of the tournament and now advance to the winners’ bracket finals against the only other unbeaten team in the double-elimination field, Sheridan Peoples Bank. They’ll play at BHS Thursday night at 8, following a pair of Senior Legion games between Bryant and Russellville, which start at 5 p.m.
Sheridan Peoples Bank advanced with an 11-4 win over Jacksonville.
The Sox scored seven times in the first two innings, with the help of some Sheridan miscues. In all, the Sheridan team had six errors in the game.
Logan White had three hits for the Sox. Lawson Speer added two to go with three stolen bases to lead the Bryant offense.
A trio of pitchers, Drew Hatman, Caleb Greiner and Braxton Prather combined to keep Sheridan at bay.
Bryant has now won eight of its last nine games. The Sox improved to 16-8-1 with Wednsday’s victory.
Hatman pitched around a one-out single to Aaron Webb in the top of the first, picking off Webb after he’d reached on an infield hit.
In the bottom of the inning, Speer led off with a line-drive single to left then stole second. White beat out an infield hit that also drew an errant throw to first allowing Speer to score. White wound up at second. Moments later, he was at third after Ryan Riggs’ long drive to center was dropped. Colby Morrow picked up the RBI on a grounder to second to make it 2-0.
Landon Feimster led off Sheridan’s second with a double. He advanced to third on a passed ball as Hatman was striking out the next two batters. After one pitch to Gabe Kuttenkuler, Hatman picked off Feimster to end the inning.
Jaxon Ham led off the second with a double to left center. He advanced on a wild pitch as Jordan Knox was drawing a walk. Knox swiped second and, after a Sheridan pitching change, Speer laced a double down the leftfield line to make it 4-0.
White singled and stole second then Riggs walked to fill the sacks for Morrow, who delivered another RBI with a single to right, a blooper that fell in. Unfortunately, Riggs had held up between first and second and the throw from the outfield got him at second on a force.
Gavin Burton lined a single to right to plate White and, after Luke Dreher was struck by a pitch to load the bases, Cade Parker made it 7-0 with a sacrifice fly.
Hatman issued his only walk to Kuttenkuler to start the third and manager Ozzie Hurt decided to take him out. He had thrown just 29 pitches but 30 in the limit. If a pitcher does not throw as many as 30 pitches, he’s available the next day. Over 30 and he’d have to sit for a day.
Caleb Greiner took over and, after an infield hit by Conner Anderson and an errant throw put runners at second and third, Nick Purifoy’s sacrifice fly got Sheridan on the board.
And Sheridan cut into the margin a little more in the top of the fourth. Webb and Brodie McElroy each singled then Feimster singled to drive in a run. Jarrett Atchley beat out a swinging bunt for a hit to load the bases. Moments later, however, Landon Kizer hit a grounder to Dreher at second. He got the force but the return throw to first was not in time as McElroy scored. It wound up being ruled a doubleplay when the runner sliding into second interfered with the Ham, the shortstop, as he crossed the bag to make a throw to first.
The Sox got those runs back in the bottom of the fourth. Hayden Thompson drew a pinch-hit walk and, with one out, Dreher cracked a double down the left-field line. Hunter Holt got a run in with a sacrifice fly then Dreher scored as Ham’s grounder to third drew a wild throw to first.
Prather entered in the top of the fifth and wound up retiring five in a row and seven of the next eight batters. A two-out walk in the sixth was the only interruption.
In the home sixth, Burton lined a single to right that was misplayed in the outfield, allowing him to race to third. Will Hathcote was hit by a pitch but was forced at second on a blooper to center off Parker’s bat. Grant Dunbar, running for Burton, was able to score on the play, however, making it 10-3.
Parker stole second and went to third on Ham’s groundout. Knox drew his third walk of the game and when he stole second, a wild throw sailed into center. Parker scored and Knox headed for third. A relay to third was awry as well and Knox scored too.
After a strikeout to start the seventh, Addison Savage worked a walk. Cameron Jones looped a single to left. Blane Shumate followed with a grounder to short. The Sox got the force but the relay to first was wild. Savage scored and Shumate wound up at second.
Webb walked but Prather got McElroy to ground out to Dreher at second to end the game.
