SEMINOLE, Texas — By edging Seminole, Texas, 6-5, in the losers’ bracket final, the Bryant All-Stars reached the championship round of the 2019 Cal Ripken 10U Southwest Regional Tournament on Sunday. They then forced the “if” game with a 9-5 win over previously unbeaten Meridian, Miss. The two teams will meet for the third time in the tournament at 10 a.m. on Monday to determine the championship.
Meridian had sent Bryant to the losers’ bracket on Saturday with a 5-1 win only to have Bryant comeback on Sunday.
The Bryant 10’s, coached by Greg Riggs, include Blake Brower, Cannon Chalmers, Carson Dozier, Jackson Duran, Jake Elliott, Drake Fikes, Gunner Frazier, Austin Hastings, Cooper Hatman, Hunter Markham, Paxton Pringle, Jaxon Riggs, Drew Tate-Lee and Jackson Trusty.
Bryant 9, Meridian 5
In the rematch, Bryant busted out to build an 8-0 lead going into the bottom of the fourth. Meridian tried to mount a comeback but fell short.
Elliott went 4 for 4 in the game for Bryant. Riggs and Markham had three hits each, Hastings two.
Brower pitched five innings then Frazier shut the door with a scoreless sixth.
It was 2-0 after the first. In the top of the inning, Riggs lined a single to center and Markham beat out a bunt hit, advancing to second on an error. Riggs tried to score but was thrown out at the plate.
Elliott beat out an infield hit as Markham held at second and, with two out, Hatman came through with a lined single to left to plate the first run then Hastings doubled in Elliott.
Brower pitched around a two-out single in the bottom of the first and, in the second, Bryant scored two more. Chalmers got the rally going with a one-out single to right. Trusty walked and, after a wild pitch and a pitching change, Riggs got a bunt down for an RBI single.
After Markham walked, Elliott shot a single to center to make it 4-0.
A walk and a two-out single wasn’t even for Meridian to break through in the bottom of the second. In the third, Bryant was unable to take advantage of a pair of walks and a hit batsman.
Brower struck out the side around a two-out single in the bottom of the third, which set up Bryant’s game-breaking fourth.
Markham’s one-out single started the scoring carousel. Elliott doubled him home and, after Brower singled, a passed ball made it 6-0.
Duran came on to run for Brower. Hastings’ groundout to second plated a run then Tate-Lee’s pop behind short was dropped and Hatman scored to make it 8-0.
Meridian used three doubles and two groundouts to get three runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth. But Bryant got one of those back in the fifth when Riggs and Markham singled with two out and Elliott came through with an RBI double.
Brower pitched around a two-out single in the home fifth. In the sixth, however, he was greeted by a double and a single. A hit batsman loaded the bases and Frazier relieved. An error in the outfield allowed a run to score then a miscue on the infield made it 9-5 before Frazier ended the game with a strikeout and a pop to Hastings at first.
Bryant 6, Seminole, Texas 5
In another rematch, Bryant beat Seminole for the second time, this time ousting them from the tournament.
There were some dramatics in this game as it went to the sixth with Seminole leading 3-2. Bryant scratched out four runs in the top of the sixth to take a 6-3 edge. Seminole came back in the bottom of the inning and got two runs to cut the margin to one, and had the potential tying run on first, when the last two outs were recorded.
Frazier got those last two outs after surrendering a single in the sixth, earning the save in relief of Elliott. Though 5 1/3 innings, Elliott allowed five runs, all unearned, on four hits. He walked no one and fanned four. Three Bryant errors contributed to Seminole’s scoring.
Offensively, Riggs had three hits and Markham two. Dozier doubled and drove in two runs.
Bryant threatened in each of the first two innings. In the first, Riggs and Markham led off with singles, but Bryant was unable to take advantage. In the second, Hastings walked, and Chalmers cracked a single with two down, but they were stranded.
In the meantime, Elliott retired the first six Seminole batters.
And Bryant broke up the scoreless deadlock in the top of the third. Riggs and Markham each singled again but this time, an error allowed Riggs to score. Markham wound up at third and he scored from there on a grounder to second by Brower.
Elliott hit the first batter of the third but, with one out, on a comebacker to the pitcher, Bryant turned a doubleplay.
Seminole’s three-run fourth flipped the lead. A single, two errors and a groundout produced the runs.
Bryant was retired in order in the top of the fifth and Seminole made a bid to extend the lead with a pair of one-out singles. But Elliott got the second out on a pop up that he hauled down. His strikeout sent it to the sixth.
Hatman started Bryant’s comeback with a single. Hastings got a bunt down and beat it out for a hit. A walk to Tate-Lee loaded the bases for Dozier, who plated two with his double to right.
Chalmers walked to load the bases again and, with one out, Riggs lined a single to center to drive in two more.
A lead-off single gave Seminole hope of a rally in the bottom of the sixth. An error allowed the next batter to reach base as a run score. With one out and a runner at second, Frazier relieved and surrendered an RBI single to make it 6-5.
But, a pop to Brower at second, and a grounder to Riggs at short preserved the lead.
