Carson Kemp, with fifth-inning relief from Jaylen Ryland, held the Jacksonville 15U team to one hit as the Bryant Black Sox 15U American Legion team bounced back from its lone loss of the season with an 11-1 romp at Bryant High School Field on Wednesday.
The Sox had suffered an 11-2 loss to Sheridan (Ward) on June 15 after winning their first six games of the season.
Aidan Hughes had two of the Sox’ eight hits in the game. Kemp had the lone extra-base knock with a double.
Bryant took advantage of six walks and five errors in the five-inning contest.
Jacksonville took a 1-0 lead on an unearned run in the first and had two outs on the Black Sox in the bottom of the inning before a walk to Gage Horn opened the floodgates. Hughes singled and Kemp walked to load the bases for Ryland, whose grounder to third got through allowing two runs to score.
With Ryan Harmon in as a courtesy runner for Kemp, the Jacksonville pitcher unleashed an errant pickoff throw and not only Harmon, but Ryland scored.
Justen Myles was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Reid Catton’s knock to make it 5-1.
Catton stole second and Clay Crawford singled. Catton wound up scoring on another errant pickoff throw from the pitcher to make it 6-1.
The Sox turned a doubleplay in the top of the second after the lead-off batted had reached on an error.
In the home half of the frame, Horn walked and swiped second. Hughes dropped in a bloop single, and Kemp made it 7-1 with a double to right.
Jacksonville was retired in order in the top of the third and, in the bottom of the inning, the Sox tacked on some more.
Crawford reached on a one-out error then Ryan Green singled to left. With runners at the corners, Caden Stovall cracked a single that made it 8-1.
An errant pickoff throw by the Jacksonville catcher allowed Green to score. Stovall took second then advanced to third as Horn beat out an infield hit. A wild pitch got Stovall home with the Sox’ 10th run.
An error and a hit batsman with one out in the top of the fourth gave Jacksonville a chance to score but Kemp kept them off the board with a strikeout and a groundout.
Bryant’s 11th run was scored by Brayden Beenken who led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk. He eventually came home on a balk.
Ryland finished up by working around a two-out walk in the top of the fifth.
The Bryant 15’s are scheduled to return to action this weekend at the 2D Scout Games at UALR.
