Black Sox pull away from Texarkana to reach title round, clinch Senior State bid
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting 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).
TEXARKANA — Leaving little in doubt, the Bryant Black Sox clinched a return trip to the Senior American Legion State Tournament with a 14-3 rout of the rival Texarkana Razorbacks on Sunday in the winners’ bracket final of the Zone 4 Tournament at Joe Blagg Field.
Bryant advances to the championship round at 6 p.m., on Monday night to await the survivor of the losers bracket, with an “if” game to follow should the Sox lose the first game.
Bryant will be seeking a repeat as State champion and another shot at a Mid-South Regional title. Last year, the Sox suffered a pair of bitterly disappointing losses in the Regional championship round.
State is set to be played at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith starting Friday, July 24.
Dylan Hurt had three hits and three runs batted in on Sunday, while Drew Tipton, Brandan Warner, Blake Patterson and Jason Hastings added two hits apiece for the Sox.
Right-hander Zach “Panda” Jackson held the Razorbacks to two runs, one earned on six hits over seven innings. He fanned two without a walk. Alex Shurtleff finished with two innings of relief, surrendering a run on three hits with a walk and a strikeout.
The Sox staked out a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Warner was hit by a pitch, Patterson walked and, moments later, Evan Lee delivered a sacrifice fly.
In the top of the third, Warner cracked a double, stole third and scored on Patterson’s sacrifice fly. With two down, Trey Breeding reached on an error and sprinted home when Hastings belted a double.
Bryant made it a 5-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Garrett Misenheimer drew a walk and Connor Tatum sacrificed him to second. Tipton beat out an infield hit as Misenheimer held at second. With two down, a passed ball moved them both into scoring position for Patterson, who singled them both in.
Jackson faced the minimum through the first three innings though he surrendered a first-inning single to Hudson Hopkins. He got Nick Myers to ground into a doubleplay, started by Tatum.
In the home fourth, Hopkins singled and stole second. Myers doubled him in then went to third on a passed ball and scored on Blake Hall’s groundout.
Neither team scored in the fifth. Hurt singled but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double. Misenheimer singled but was forced at second on a grounder by Tatum to end the inning.
Jackson then pitched around a one-out error and a single by Justin Swecker.
In the sixth, the Sox began to put some distance between them and the Hogs.
Tipton drew a lead-off walk and Warner singled. With two down, Breeding singled to load the bases then Hastings was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Hurt belted a two-run single and it was 8-2.
The Sox reconvened the offense in the seventh after Jackson worked around a two-out double to Dylan Sylvy in the home sixth. Tipton again ignited the Bryant uprising — this time, with a double. Walks to Warner and Patterson filled the bases for Lee who delivered another sacrifice fly. Two more scored when Breeding’s grounder to short was misplayed.
In the home seventh, the Sox turned another doubleplay after a lead-off single by Will Smith.
Shurtleff came on in the eighth and gave up a two-out double to Myers that came to nothing. In the top of the ninth, Bryant capped its scoring. Patterson singled with one out and scored on a double by Lee. Hastings singled with two down then Hurt knocked in a run with a base hit. Logan Allen’s grounder to second was booted and Hastings made it 13-2.
Smith singled in a run in the bottom of the ninth after Sylvy had doubled and Jackson Murphy walked. But Shurtleff struck out Brandon White and Texarkana stranded two when the next pair of batters each flew out to Tipton in center.
