LEVELLAND, Texas — The Bryant All-Stars scored eight runs in the first inning but it wasn’t the[more] biggest inning of the game as they opened the Babe Ruth League Southwest Regional tournament for 14-year-old on Friday.
They scored 14 in the fifth turning a 16-5 lead into a 30-5 victory of Brownsville, Texas.
Bryant advances to play at 10 a.m., on Saturday morning in a second-round contest against Siloam Springs, Ark.
The team is managed by Jerry East. The players are Logan Allen, Drew Brown, Cameron Coleman, Jake East, Lawson Fincher, Jeffrey Hastings, Dylan Hurt, Austin Kelly, Hayden Knowles, Preston Kyzer, Garrett Misenheimer, Aaron Orender, Kyle Sahr, Alex Shurtleff and Diego Vargas.
Shurtleff had four hits and East and Orender had three each as Bryant took advantage of eight Brownsville errors, 12 walks and two hit batmen with 19 hits in the game.
Misenheimer started on the mound for Bryant and, after a lead-off walk, struck out the side in the opening inning.
The first of those errors opened up the floodgates in the bottom of the first allowing East to reach. Orender’s first hit was a double to left-center that sent East to third. Shurtleff drove both home with a single to center. Misenheimer’s base hit to left was followed by a walk to Hurt to load the bases. Shurtleff was awarded home on a balk.
A walk to Kelly, an error on a ball hit by Coleman and an error on a bouncer to third by Allen continued the scoring before the first out was recorded. In his second at bat of the inning, East drilled a double to left to drive in a run. Orender’s blooper to right plated Allen to make it 8-0.
In the top of the second, Brownsville used a pair of walks and an error to plate three runs before Misenheimer struck out the side again.
Bryant’s onslaught resumed in the bottom of the inning. This time, Kelly ripped a double inside the bag at third to get things rolling. Coleman beat out an infield hit and Allen beat out a bunt to get Kelly home. A walk to Hastings filled the sacks for East, squeezed home the team’s 10th run.
Orender reached on an error by the shortstop as Allen scored then Shurtleff cleared the bases with a triple. Misenheimer picked up an RBI with a grounder to short, making it 14-3.
Misenheimer hit the first batter he faced in the third but Hurt, the Bryant catcher, picked the runner off first. A walk followed and Brownsville tried to sacrifice only to have Misenheimer field the bunt and throw to second for a force. A pop to first ended the inning.
Kelly and Coleman walked to open the Bryant third. Allen bounced into a force at third. He was then retired on Hastings’ grounder to short. But when the relay got away, Hastings rounded first and made it to second. East singled him in to make it 16-3.
With Fincher on in relief of Misenheimer, Brownsville took advantage of a pair if errors to trim a pair of runs off the margin but, moments later, Bryant was sending 20 batters to the plate in the bottom of the fourth.
Fincher was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Brown reached on an error and Sahr walked. A free pass to Vargas forced in a run. With one away, Hastings singled to load the bases for East, who sliced a single to right to knock in two. He stole second and, after Orender walked, Shurtleff singled to drive in two.
Walks followed to Fincher, Brown and Sahr before Vargas’ grounder to short was booted. Kyzer singled and so did Hastings. With two down, Orender and Shurtleff each singled to left to put a cap on the scoring.
Fincher set down Brownsville in order in the top of the fifth to put an end to the proceedings.
