WHITE HALL — Two outs away from advancing to the championship round of their District Tournament, the Bryant 15-year-old All-Stars absorbed a gut-wrenching turn of events on Sunday.
Bryant was clinging to a 1-0 lead after snapping an intense, scoreless battle with White Hall with a run in the top of the sixth inning.
Right-hander Jordan Taylor, who was working on the five-hit shutout, struck out the first batter in the seventh but, moments later, on a 3-1 pitch, White Hall’s Pierce Sloan hit what may have been ball four low and lofted it over the short fence in right for a game-tying homer. And a pitch later, Jacob Holland belted another for the walk-off win, 2-1.
White Hall advanced to the championship round to face the survivor of the loser’s bracket. Bryant was set to play Monday at 8 p.m., against the winner of an earlier game between Sheridan and Pine Bluff Seabrook, for a chance to challenge White Hall again for the title on Tuesday.All four teams will be advancing to the 15-year-old Babe Ruth State tournament which commences on Friday, July 17, at Taylor Field in Pine Bluff.[more]
Bryant’s 15-year-olds, coached by Wayne Taylor, include Seth Alkire, Jared Archer, Dylan Cross, Ozzie Hurt, Tyler Jamison, Luke McConnell, Quinton Motto, Trevor Paige, Josh Pultro, Alex Rowlan, Stoney Stephens, Jordan Taylor and Matthew Welch.
“That was tough to swallow,” said Coach Taylor. “Jordan was dominant on the mound and pitched his heart out and the defense played well behind him. To me, it showed how funny the game of baseball can be. You take a pitcher who throw 6 1/3 innings of good baseball and two pitches later is the losing pitcher. But I tip my hat to White Hall for finding a way to win. It was a very good baseball game.”
Bryant’s run in the sixth came despite having two baserunners thrown out along the way.
Cross led off with a drive to right-center. He tried to turn the single into a double, however, and was thrown out at second. Alkire drew a walk and stole second then tried to score on Motto’s hit to right only to be thrown out at the plate as Motto took second. Pultro followed with a shot to left that hit the top of the fence and came back onto the field, just missing a two-run homer. As it was, Motto scored the game’s first run.
Welch walked to keep the inning going but after a pitching change, a strikeout ended the rally.
With the 2, 3, and 4 hitters coming up in the bottom of the inning, Taylor breezed through with a strikeout, a pop out and a grounder to short.
In the top of the seventh, Jamison drew a walk and was sacrificed to second by Hurt. He took third on Taylor’s grounder to the right side but was stranded when a pop up ended the inning.
Bryant had put a pair of baserunners on in the first when Taylor singled and Cross was hit by a pitch but couldn’t move them further. In the second, Pultro was hit by a pitch and Stevens singled with one out only to have the inning end with a strikeout and a flyout. Cross singled with two down in the top of the third to no avail.
After going three-and-out in the fourth, Bryant put a couple of batters on with two out in the fifth when Jamison walked and stole second then Hurt singled off the third baseman’s glove. But the ball didn’t ricochet far enough away for Jamison to score after he’d held up with the play in front of him.
Meanwhile, Taylor pitched around a single and a double with two out in the first. A diving catch by Hurt at short on a liner up the middle to start the inning helped keep White Hall from scoring. Taylor picked off the lead runner and the Bryant Stars worked the rundown between second and third to retire the side.
White Hall managed a single to no effect in the second and Taylor worked around a hit batsman and an infield hit in the third. He set down the side in order in the fourth.
In the fifth, a bunt single by the lead-off man was followed by a pop out to short. The next batter bounced to Motto at first. He stepped on the bag for the first out then fired to Hurt covering second. He applied the tag for an inning-ending doubleplay that provided a spark for the top of the sixth.
