SHERWOOD — The Bryant Cal Ripkin Rookie League 6-and-under All-Stars tuned up for State Tournament play with a tournament championship at Sylvan Hills over the weekend of June 19-21.
The team is coached by Matt Orender and included Luke Bessire, Clay Curtis, Cooper Davis, Josh Day, Peyton Dillon, Gavin Glasgow, Austin Ledbetter, Jagger Littleton, Justin Orender, Brett Pennington, Austin Schroeder, and Blaine Sears.
They’ll play at the State Tournament beginning July 3 at Sherwood.
Over the weekend, they won the championship with a 15-6 win over the Cabot Stix.
They’d opened the tournament with an 18-0 win over a different Cabot team. In the second round, they suffered an 17-10 loss to Benton but came back to oust Benton 11-6 to get to the championship game.[more]
Bryant 15, Cabot 6
The Bryant Stars built a 9-0 lead then off a Cabot rally, finishing up with a six-run fourth.
Bryant scored three in the first. Schroeder and Pennington led off with singles and moved up to second and third on Ledbetter’s sacrifice. Glasgow chased them both home with a triple and, an out later, scored on a base hit by Littleton.
Cabot were retired 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning and Bryant tacked on four more runs in the second. Singles by Bessire and Day were followed by a two-run triple from Dillon to make it 5-0. Davis doubled in Dillon but was retired on a fielder’s choice. With two down, Ledbetter singled and scored on a hit by Glasgow to make it 7-0.
Cabot managed a pair of hits in the bottom of the second but when the lead runner tried to take third on the second hit, he was thrown out by Curtis from left-field.
Curtis then got a two-run uprising started in the top of the third with a one-out single. Sears followed with a base hit and Bessire chased both home with a double.
Cabot got four runs across in the bottom of the inning but had a runner thrown out at the plate by Pennington, the Bryant shortstop, to end the inning.Consecutive hits by Davis, Schroeder, Pennington, Ledbetter, Glasgow and Orender highlighted the top of the fourth. Ledbetter and Orender had doubles. With one out, Curtis singled to drive in the sixth run.
Cabot got two runs back in the bottom of the inning but could get no more as Day threw home to Schroeder to nab a baserunner trying to score to end the game.
Bryant 11, Benton 6
A six-run second that wiped out Benton’s 4-3 lead proved to be decisive in the semifinal game.
Bryant had claimed a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The uprising was sparked by back-to-back doubles by Schroeder and Pennington. Consecutive singles by Ledbetter, Glasgow, Orender and Littleton produced two more runs.
Benton countered with five consecutive hits and another after the first out to push four runs home in the top of the second, taking the lead.
The tell-tale home second began with a home run by Sears, tying the game. An out later, Day singled but was forced out on a grounder by Dillon. So, with two down and one on, the uprising took flight. Davis and Schroeder singled then Pennington cleared the bases with a triple. Ledbetter singled him in then scored on a three-bagger by Glasgow to max out the inning.
Benton cut into the 9-4 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third but Bryant got those back in the home half. Orender singled and Littleton doubled. With two down, Bessire cracked a two-bagger to set the final score.
Bryant kept Benton off the scoreboard in both the fourth and fifth innings to preserve the victory.
Benton 17, Bryant 10
Benton led just 11-10 after Bryant rallied from an 11-6 deficit in the bottom of the fourth but by scoring the maximum six runs in the top of the fifth they Benton Stars created an insurmountable lead to clinch the win.
A four-run first put Benton ahead initially but Bryant answered with six in the bottom of the inning. Schroeder doubled to start the rally. Pennington and Ledbetter reached but Glasgow grounded into a fielder’s choice that retired Ledbetter as Pennington scored. Singles by Orender, Littleton and Curtis followed. Though Curtis was retired, Sears kept things going with a double. Hits by Bessire, Day and Dillon capped off the inning.Benton, however, got those six runs back in the top of the second then held Bryant in the bottom of the inning.
After eking out a very important run, as it turned out, in the top of the third, Benton kept Bryant off the board in the bottom of that inning as well.
The Bryant Stars gave themselves some hope by holding Benton scoreless in the top of the fourth and took advantage in the bottom of the inning.
Sears ripped a triple to ignite the fourth-inning rally. Bessire singled and, an out later, Dillon cracked a double. Singles by Davis and Schroeder pulled Bryant within a run but, with the tying run at first, Benton managed to get out of the inning to set up the game-clinching top of the fifth outburst.
Bryant 18, Cabot 0
Bryant’s Stars maxed out in each of the three innings and made one solid defensive play after another to keep Cabot shut out on just six hits.
In the first, Schroeder singled and scored the first run on a triple by Pennington. Ledbetter singled to make it 2-0 before Glasgow and Orender belted consecutive doubles. Littleton singled then scored the sixth run on a base hit by Curtis.
In the second, Bessire got things started with a one-out hit. Day reached ahead of a two-bagger by Dillon. Davis singled then Schroeder and Pennington cracked consecutive doubles. With two down, Glasgow ripped the fourth double of the frame to make it 12-0.
Orender, Littleton and Curtis reached base to start the third. After Curtis was forced out as Sears reached base and a run scored, Bessire, Day, Dillon, Davis, Schroeder and Pennington stringed together hits to complete the rout.
