Black Sox sweep Senior doubleheader from Russellville
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Blake Patterson cracked an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team survived a late comeback by Russellville to forge a 9-8 win Monday night. Coupled with a 5-2 victory in the first game, the Sox earned a sweep of the twinbill between the two teams, improving to 14-0 this season going into the 19-and-under Battle of Omaha, which is set to begin this Thursday.
Drew Tipton had walked to open the eighth. He stole second and scored on Patterson’s shot to right-center.
The Black Sox had appeared to take control of the game with five runs in the fifth, which put them up 7-4. But Russellville rallied for three in the sixth and, after the Sox added one in the home half, two in the top of the seventh to tie it.
Bryant 5, Russellville 2
In the opener Devin Dupree won his second game in as many starts, allowing just four hits while issuing two walks and striking out three. Both runs and two of the hits came in the third inning and gave Russellville a brief 2-1 lead.
Bryant had taken a 1-0 edge in the second when Justin Emmerling beat out an infield hit with two down, stole second and scored when Harrison Dale’s grounder to short was botched.
Dupree had pitched around a walk in the first and an error in the second. In the third, a single and a double put Russellville in position to take the lead. With one out, Russellville squeezed in the tying run. The go-ahead tally scored on a balk. But Dupree kept it to that and his teammates regained the lead in the home fourth.
Patterson led off the inning with a double. He scored when Lessenberry’s fly to right was misplayed. C.J. Phillips singled in the second run to make it 3-2.
In the fifth, Russellville threatened after two were out. A walk, a single and a passed ball had runners at second and third but Dupree got the next batter to bounce to third to escape.
The Sox tacked on one in the home fifth. Austin Caldwell singled, took second on a sacrifice by Korey Thompson then scored on a two-out single to right by Patterson.
Up 4-2, Dupree waded through the heart of Russellville’s batting order in the sixth. Though he would surrender a lead-off single in the seventh, the Sox turned a doubleplay and the game ended on a fly to left.
In the meantime, they had added a little more insurance in the home sixth. Dale doubled with two out and scored on a single by Zach Graddy.
Bryant 9, Russellville 8
In the wide nightcap, each team scored a run in the first. In the home half, Tipton reached second on a one-out throwing error. An errant throw to third allowed him to advance then another errant throw, this time for left field, produced the run ahead of singles by Patterson and Lessenberry.
Right-hander Justin Emmerling worked scores innings in the second and third after surrendering the run on a double and a single to start the game.
Bryant took a 2-1 lead in the third. Thompson opened the inning with a single to right-center. Trevor Ezell bunted him to second and, after he held there on Tipton’s grounder to short, Patterson laced a double to left to drive him home.
Russellville tied it in the top of the fourth, however, on a single, a hit batsman and a pair of walks. An error led to an unearned run in the fifth as the Sox fell behind by a run. But Emmerling forced Russellville to strand runners at first and second when he got a strikeout to end the inning.
Tipton opened Bryant’s first with a triple. He scored on a passed ball then Patterson was hit by a pitch to force a pitching change. Hayden Lessenberry walked and, after a passed ball, Patterson beat the play at the plate on Brandan Warner’s grounder, making it 4-3.
With Lessenberry at third, Warner stole second, bringing up Phillips who drilled a two-run single to center. Dale sacrificed Phillips to second, Caldwell beat out a bunt single and Thompson got the sacrifice bunt down to plate the fifth run of the inning.
Russellville trimmed the 7-3 lead to a run by scoring three times in the top of the sixth. The Sox got a run back in the home half on a clutch two-out RBI single by Warner. Tipton, who singled, stole second and took third on a balk, scored the run.
Errors allowed Russellville to second twice in the top of the seventh, however. In turn, Dale singled and was sacrificed to second by Holt only to be stranded.
Holt, who relieved in the sixth, had to pitch out of a jam in the top of the eighth. A pair of singles started the inning for Russellville, A sacrifice attempt, however, was fielded by Holt who threw to Thompson, ranging over from second to cover third, for a force. After a strikeout, a walk loaded the bases but the next batter grounder to Thompson at second where he got a force to end the threat.
That set up Tipton and Patterson to produce the game-winner in the home half.
