Black Sox overwhelm Colorado team as pool play continues at ‘Battle’
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OMAHA — While Dalton Holt was shutting out 115 Orange of Loveland, Colo., to just one hit over the first three innings, his teammates on the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team were piling up a 13-0 lead in a pool play game at the annual 19-and-under Battle of Omaha Classic on Friday.
On a day when play in many of the games involving the 56-team field were interrupted and postponed by stormy weather including lightning, the Sox hammered out eighth its to take advantage of 11 walks, two hit batsmen and an error in the 16-2 blowout.
Bryant improved to 3-0 in its pool with two more games set for Saturday as they bid to advance to the single-elimination championship bracket on Sunday. Last year, the Sox made it to the semifinals of the Classic only to have the final day of play washed out by heavy rains.
Trevor Ezell had two of the Black Sox’ hits. Devin Dupree and Austin Caldwell provided quality relief of Holt in closing out the five-inning victory.
115 Orange managed four hits in the game, three of them in the two-run fourth.
The Sox grabbed a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Ezell sliced a double to the corner in left and scored on a two-bagger by Tipton shot to the gap in left-center. Blake Patterson’s single to right plated Tipton.
Hayden Lessenberry walked but the Colorado team turned a doubleplay as Patterson scored. Holt followed with a triple to right-center. He would score on a passed ball to make it 4-0.
In the second, walks to Thompson, Ezell and Tipton loaded the bases. Patterson was struck by a pitch, forcing in a run. Lessenberry shot an opposite-field single to plate a run. Chase Tucker followed with a pop into shallow right that was flagged down by the Orange second baseman going away from the infield. Tipton alertly tagged and sprinted home to make it a successful sacrifice fly. And when Patterson scored on a wild pitch, it was 8-0.
Holt, who had retired the first six, hit a batter to lead off the third but the Sox turned a doubleplay off a bouncer to Thompson at second. After a single to center, Holt ended the inning with a strikeout.
Bryant continued the onslaught in the third. This time, Brandan Warner ignited the offense with a bunt single. Caldwell was hit by a pitch and, with one out, Ezell singled to load the bases. After two were out, Justin Emmerling worked an RBI walk and so did Lessenberry. Two scored on Tucker’s single to left. When Dupree reached on an error, Lessenberry scored to make it 13-0.
The Sox put the finishing touches on the win in the home fourth. Five straight walks accounted for two runs. Tucker made it a four-RBI game with a sacrifice fly to center.
Caldwell eased through a 1-2-3 top of the fifth to close out the game.
Bryant was scheduled to play a team from Milwaukee, Wis., and one of the host teams, Burke High School of Omaha, on Saturday.
