Photos courtesy of Crissy McEntire
By Madison McEntire
LONOKE — The Bryant 14-year-old All-Stars captured the 2015 South Arkansas State Babe Ruth title with a tense 8-3 win over rival Little Rock Junior Deputy on Tuesday, July 14. Little Rock had been upset by Clark County in ten innings in their opening game of the tournament and was forced to win five consecutive games in the loser’s bracket to face Bryant in a state tournament game for the sixth straight year.
Although Bryant never trailed in the game, the victory was not assured until the top of the final inning when they erupted with a five-run rally, capped by Cade Dupree’s bases-clearing double. Will McEntire struck out 10 and allowed just three hits before tiring in the sixth inning. Coby Greiner came in and escaped a bases-loaded jam and Logan Grant closed the door with in the bottom of the seventh. Logan Catton sparked the offense with two hits, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored.
As State champions, Bryant will participate in the 14-year-old Babe Ruth World Series in Pine Bluff beginning on Aug. 15.
The team members are Jacob Coppock, Logan Grant, Logan Chambers, Cade Dupree, Coby Greiner, Ryan Taylor, Brock Bariola, Logan Catton, Will McEntire, Sawyer Holt, Ryan Lessenberry, Cameron Tipton, Elijah King and Clift Chaffin. They are managed by Michael Catton with help from assistant coaches Phillip Dupree and Madison McEntire.
After Coppock grounded out to short to start the game, Chambers reached on an error by the shortstop but Grant flied to short right and Dupree forced Chambers at second to end the top of the first.
In the bottom of the inning, McEntire walked the first batter. Little Rock attempted to move the runner to second but bunted back to the mound and McEntire fired to Catton at second for the first out. After a three-pitch strikeout, McEntire allowed a single the middle to the cleanup hitter but stranded both runners with a swinging strikeout on a pitch in the dirt, with Coppock applying the tag to the batter who was still standing in the batter’s box.
Bryant scratched a run in the top of the second. After Bariola grounded out to second, Taylor ripped a double in the gap in left-center ad scored when Catton grounded a pitch back up the middle. McEntire grounded to third to force Catton at second and then Greiner walked to put two on. On a 3-2 pitch, Holt flied to left for the third out but Bryant had a 1-0 lead.
Little Rock’s six-hole hitter lined the first pitch of the bottom of the second right at Bariola who initially broke in but recovered to make a leaping catch. McEntire then whiffed the next two batters.
Bryant went down in order in the third. Coppock bounced out to second. Chambers reached on an error but was thrown out attempting to steal and Grant struck out swinging.
Little Rock tied the game in the bottom of the frame. After McEntire fanned the bottom two of the order, Little Rock’s leadoff batter reached second when Grant’s throw to first was wild and got by Dupree. McEntire had two strikes on the next batter who stayed alive by barely fouling off a high pitch in his eyes and then a curveball in the dirt before lining a double in the gap in right to tie the game. The next batter hit a towering popup to Greiner at third and the game moved to the fourth inning.
Bryant went down 1-2-3 once again as Dupree grounded to short, Bariola bounced out to third and Taylor popped up to the pitcher.
The first Little Rock batter in the fourth chopped a ball to Grant at short who threw him out at first base but the next batter hammered a ball deep over Holt’s head in left for a triple. With the go-ahead run 90 feet away, McEntire bore down and recorded a swinging strikeout. A fly to left to kept the game tied.
Bryant reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth. Catton led off with a liner to center and McEntire bunted him up to second. After Catton advanced to third on a wild pitch, Greiner attempted to bring him home with on a suicide squeeze on a 1-1 pitch. The pitch went all the way to the backstop and Catton trotted home but the umpire ruled that Greiner had nicked the ball with his bat for a foul ball. With Catton back on third, the squeeze call was given again despite Greiner having two strikes on him. The move paid off when his bunt down the third baseline caught Little Rock by surprise. The pitcher threw to the plate but Catton slid in safely to break the tie as Greiner made it to first.
Holt grounded to the shortstop who forced Greiner out at second but the throw to first for a double play was off-line for an error and allowed Holt to move up to second. Coppock struck out swinging to end the inning with Bryant up 2-1.
All three Little Rock outs in the bottom of the fifth came via the strikeout. After getting the first batter looking at a 3-2 pitch, McEntire finally got the following batter to swing and miss after he had fouled off three two-strike pitches. Little Rock’s 10-hole hitter popped up high behind the mound but Grant and Catton had trouble locating the ball in the lights and it fell off Catton’s glove to put a runner on but McEntire worked around it with a swinging strikeout to end the inning.
Bryant upped their lead to 3-1 in the top of the sixth. Chambers led off with a liner in the hole that went off the glove of the shortstop who made a diving attempt on the ball. Grant sacrificed Chambers to second and Dupree walked to put two on. Chambers attempted to move up on a ball in the dirt but his brief hesitation allowed the catcher to find the ball in time to throw him out at third. Grant moved to second on the play. On a 2-2 pitch, Bariola grounded a hard shot back up the middle to bring Grant home. Taylor flied out to right field. Bryant’s lead 3-1, just six outs away from the win.
In the bottom of the sixth, McEntire walked the first batter on four pitches and then threw a wild pitch to move him to second. A groundout to Grant moved the runner to third and then a sac fly to right brought him in to make the score 3-2. McEntire walked the next two batters on five pitches each and was replaced on the mound by Greiner.
Greiner was ahead of his first batter 0-2 but a soft ground ball to the side of the mound went off his glove and was picked up by Grant who had no play. With the base now loaded Greiner was again one strike away from ending the inning but hit the batter on with a 2-2 pitch to bring in the tying run.
With the game on the line, Bryant turned to a play that has bailed them out many times in the past – Greiner made a good pickoff move to third and Holt applied the tag to nab the runner off the base and end the threat. The game moved to the final inning tied 3-3.
Little Rock’s starting pitcher began to tire and walked Catton on five pitches to start the top of the seventh. With a full-count, manager Catton called for a hit-and-run and McEntire hit a grounder toward the second baseman who was in motion. He knocked the ball down but could not come up with it in time for a play.
Chaffin entered the game to run for McEntire at first. Greiner bunted down the third base line to move the runners into scoring position but the bunt was so well-placed that Little Rock’s pitcher had no play at first and Greiner reached to load the bases. Tipton pinch-hit for Holt and walked on four pitches bringing in Catton and giving Bryant a 4-3 lead. Holt re-entered the game to run for Tipton.
After a high pitch for a ball to Coppock, Little Rock changed pitchers and brought in a left-hander. Coppock worked a walk on a 3-2 pitch to plate Chaffin and make the score 5-3. With Little Rock playing the infield in, Chambers stepped in and lined back to the pitcher who fired to third but Greiner slid back in headfirst, narrowly avoiding being doubled off. Grant was called out on the infield fly rule when he popped up to the second baseman.
Little Rock was poised to get out of the inning still down only two runs but the lefty pitcher hung a curveball to Dupree who waited back on it and rifled it over the third baseman’s head into the corner to score Greiner, Holt and Coppock. Bariola grounded to second to end the inning but Bryant enjoyed an 8-3 lead needing just three outs for the State title.
Grant came on to close out the game and quickly fanned the first two batters. With an 0-2 count on Little Rock’s leadoff batter, Grant made a good pitch that induced a dribbler rolling softly past the mound. Greiner was unable to come up with it to end the game. After a four-pitch walk, a grounder to short went to Greiner who scooped it up and fired to Catton at second for the game-ending out.
