Black Sox hammer Pedal Valve to open Louisiana tourney
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GONZALEZ, La. — Playing in a tournament that features some of the teams the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team had tangled with in Mid-South Regional tournaments in recent seasons, the Sox opened up pool play with a 15-1 thumping of the Pedal Valve Cardinals of LaPlace, La., on Thursday.
Logan Catton with an inning of relief from Slade Renfrow, shackled the Cardinals on six hits, walking no one. The lone run was unearned.
The Sox racked up 13 hits including two each by Catton, Cade Drennan, Logan Grant, Gage Stark and Coby Greiner.
The game was tight, just 2-1 through three innings then Bryant scored eight times in the fourth. A five-run fifth made it a blowout.
The Sox continue pool play on Friday at 11 a.m., against the Otto Candies team from Luling, La., followed at 1:30 p.m., against the Southland Hogs of Schriever, La.
Initially, Bryant took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Grant beat out an infield hit then scored all the way from first on a double by Gage Stark. Greiner singled him home.
Pedal Valve used a one-out double, an error and a sacrifice fly to get its run in the home half of the inning.
The game-breaking fourth started with Renfrow getting struck by a 2-1 pitch with one out. Logan Chambers drew a walk then Catton got a sacrifice bunt down. And when a throw to first went wild, Catton reached second and Renfrow scored.
Drennan singled in a run to make it 4-1 then Catton scored on a passed ball. Jake Wright walked, and Grant drilled a double to plate Ryan Lessenberry, in to run for Drennan.
The outburst continued with an RBI singles by Stark and Greiner. Brayden Lester kept the inning going with a walk and with two down, Chambers spanked a single to right, plating two more and it was 10-1.
After Catton pitched around a lead-off single and a two-out hit batsman in the bottom of the fourth, the Sox piled on. Drennan and Wright each walked to start the uprising. With one out, Stark drew a free pass to fill the bases. Greiner delivered a sacrifice fly that wound up being dropped in right. That set the stage for Lester’s two-run double.
Renfrow and Catton each singled in runs to complete the onslaught.
Renfrow relieved in the home fifth and pitched around a one-out error and a two-out single to close out the run-rule victory.
