Bottom of the order delivers as Senior Sox advance at Twin Lakes Classic
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting 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).
By Rob Patrick
MOUNTAIN HOME — Coming into the 23rd annual Brooks Robinson-Lockeroom Twin Lakes Classic, the Bryant Black Sox’ trio of Ben Wells, Jonathan Wade and Austin Benning had combined to go 4 for 50 so far this season. But, against Rogers Kent Riley Chevrolet in the quarterfinals of the tourney, that trio, filling the bottom third of the order combined for three hits, six runs, four runs batted in and a pair of sacrifices to spark the Sox to an 11-6 victory.
“When those guys can get on base and even drive in runs — we’re not even asking them to drive in runs — when they just get on base in front of our big hitters, then we score 11,” noted Sox manager Craig Harrison.
The Sox, 13-2, advanced to the semifinal game at 1 p.m. on Sunday against the winner of Saturday night’s late game between Little Rock Continental Express, a Zone 4 rival, and the host team, Mountain Home Lockeroom. The finals follow at 3:30.[more]
“We’re where we want to be, playing on Sunday,” stated Sox manager Craig Harrison. “It wasn’t our best game and it wasn’t our worst game and we’re still playing. That’s what it’s all about.”
The game included 10 errors split evenly between the two teams. Rogers managed only three hits but they came at opportune times after Bryant had built 3-0 and 8-2 leads.
Trent Daniel picked up the win on the mound. Despite some lower back stiffness, the lefty fanned 10 and walked four. All six of Rogers’ runs were unearned. But when Daniel left, Rogers had closed to within 8-6. Right-hander Justin Blankenship came on and worked three hitless innings of relief to get the save.
“We felt good with Trent on the mound and went out there and got a lead,” Harrison commented. “He didn’t have his best stuff today.
“I thought J.B. came in in a tough spot,” he added. “It was 8-6 and we’d gone down 1-2-3 and they had all the momentum. And he’s 3-0 on the first batter and it didn’t seem to be setting up good. But he came back with three strikes. Then, the rest of the game, we thought we had it in hand once we scored three more runs but, you never know.”
Wells, Wade and Benning were in the middle of three scoring innings for the Sox. They’d taken a 1-0 lead in the first when Tyler Sawyer, who was 3-for-4 in the game including a three-run homer, singled, advanced on a passed ball and scored on a single by Kaleb Jobe, who was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
In the second, Daniel singled and Wells blasted a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left to make it 3-0.
Daniel, meanwhile, had held Rogers hitless through two innings. In the third, he struck out the first batter he faced but Collin Roberts, the nine-hole batter, reached base on catcher’s interference, when his bat hit Jobe’s glove as he swung. Travis Entwisle followed with a single to left.
Daniel struck out Reed Brown but issued a walk to his counterpart Spanky Purdy to load the bases. He got within a strike of escaping unscathed but Mackenzie Matthews bounced a single up the middle to drive in a run. A second scored moments later on a passed ball to make it a 3-2 ballgame. With runners at second and third — the tying and lead runs — Daniel fanned Jake Rylee on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat.
Bryant answered with a five-spot and the bottom of the order got things going. Wells reached on a throwing error then Wade got a sacrifice bunt down and, when Matthews, the Rogers’ third baseman, ill-advisedly threw too late to Brown, the shortstop covering third, Wade was on as well. On a 2-1 pitch, Benning slugged an RBI double to the gap in left-center to make it 4-2.
Wade scored when Blankenship was robbed of an infield hit on a fine play of his chopped by Brown. And, after Caleb Garrett was hit by a pitch, Sawyer blasted his three-run jack over the 380-foot sign in dead center.
Purdy gave way to Casey Wilber who issued a walk to Jobe but then, on a hit-and-run, got Brady Butler to pop up to first that Rogers turned into a doubleplay.
A long inning for Daniel followed. He went to a full count on each of the first three hitters, walking two and fanning one. Roberts then reached on catcher’s interference again, loading the bases with the top of the Rogers lineup coming around. Daniel struck out Entwisle and had a 1-2 count on Brown before he singled up the middle to plate two runs. And, when the throw from the outfield, ricocheted off Matt Phillips as he scored, Roberts went to third and Brown to second.
A wild pitch allowed Roberts to score and a passed ball brought Brown home to make it 8-6 before Purdy bounced out to Sawyer at short.
It was a 35-pitch inning for Daniel who reached the 96-pitch mark so he gave way to Blankenship in the fifth after Wilber worked around a one-out walk to Wells in the top of the inning.
Blankenship set down Rogers’ 4-5-6 hitters in order in the fifth.
The Sox took advantage of two Rogers errors in the sixth to plate a run. Blankenship reached on the first miscue, stole second and, after Sawyer beat out an infield hit, scored when Jobe’s bouncer to second was booted.
Blankenship worked around a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning and the Sox tacked on two more in the seventh. Wells drew a one-out walk, advanced on a wild pitch and took third on a solid single to right by Wade. With Benning at the plate, Wade stole second and drew a wild throw that allowed Wells to score. Wade went to third and Benning delivered a sacrifice fly to set the final score.
Brown reached on an error to start the bottom of the inning but Wade made a nice play at third to get a force at second on a hot shot off Purdy’s bat. The relay to first, however, was wild allowing Purdy to take second.
But Blankenship got Matthews to foul out to Benning down the right-field line and, after a walk to Rylee, ended it with his fourth strikeout.
“You’ve stayed in a hotel room since Tuesday night and we’ll have to fight it again tonight,” Harrison said regarding the fielding mistakes, “and, when you’re supposed to win, it’s a little hard to play. But now we know we’re up against two teams that’ll be as tough as we are. Tomorrow will be about limiting the mistakes and scoring some runs.
“We’re assured of a trophy,” he concluded. “Of course, we want the big one but whatever happens we’ll feel good about the way we’ve shown the last four days. We’ll get some guys back, which will give us a little depth on Sunday but the guys that have stepped in this week have done a nice job and I’m really proud of what they’ve done.”
BRYANT 11, ROGERS 6
Black Sox ab r h bi Riley Chevy ab r h bi
Blankenship, rf-p 5 1 2 1 Entwisle, cf 4 1 1 0
Garrett, cf 4 1 0 0 Brown, ss 4 1 1 1
Sawyer, ss 4 2 3 3 Purdy, p 2 0 0 0
Jobe, c 3 0 2 2 Bough, cr 0 0 0 0
Bullock, cr 0 0 0 0 Matthews, 3b-1b 4 0 1 1
Clark, cr 0 0 0 0 Rylee, lf 3 0 0 0
Butler, lf-rf 4 0 1 0 Hall, c 3 0 0 0
Daniel, p 3 0 1 0 Moncrief, cr 0 1 0 0
Clark, cr 0 1 0 0 Deaton, 1b 1 0 0 0
Bullock, lf 1 0 0 0 Wilber, p 2 0 0 0
Wells, 1b 2 3 1 2 Phillips, 2b 1 1 0 0
Wade, 3b 3 2 1 0 Roberts, rf 3 2 0 0
Benning, 2b 3 1 1 2
Totals 32 11 12 10 Totals 27 6 3 3
BRYANT 120 501 2 — 11
Rogers 002 400 0 — 6
E—Jobe 2, Brown 2, Garrett, Matthews, Phillips, Hall, Wells, Benning. DP—Rogers 2. LOB—Bryant 6, Rogers 6. 2B—Benning. HR—Wells, Sawyer. SB—Blankenship 2, Bullock, Moncrief, Wade. S—Wade. SF—Benning.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
Bryant
Daniel (W) 4 6 0 3 4 10
Blankenship (S) 3 0 0 0 2 4
Rogers
Purdy (L) 3.1 8 3 9 0 1
Wilber 3.2 3 1 3 3 4
HBP—Garrett (by Purdy). WP—Daniel, Wilber. PB—Hall, Jobe 2.
