SHERWOOD — The Bryant 6-year-old All-Stars will play for the State championship against their rivals from Benton on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
Benton will need to beat them twice to win the title after Bryant eked out an 11-10 win in the winners bracket final against Benton on Monday night.
In a thriller, Bryant trailed 10-9 going into the bottom of the fifth and final inning but rallied for two runs to win it. With one out, Austin Ledbetter singled and Gavin Glasgow drilled a double to put the winning runs in scoring position. Justin Orender’s base hit to right tied the game then Jagger Littleton’s infield hit won it.
The Bryant 6 year olds, coached by Matt Orender with assistance from Patrick Schroeder and Jimmy Pennington, include Luke Bessire, Clay Curtis, Cooper Davis, Josh Day, Peyton Dillon, Glasgow, Ledbetter, Littleton, Orender, Brett Pennington, Austin Schroeder, and Blaine Sears.[more]
It was a seesaw battle. Benton scored four in the first inning and held Bryant in the bottom of the inning. After Benton added another run in the top of the second, Bryant got things going with a maximum inning in the bottom of the frame, taking a 6-5 lead.
With one out, Curtis ignited the uprising with a single. And the hit parade was on as Schroeder, Bessire and Day singled. Dillon and Davis smacked consecutive doubles and, with two down, Pennington drove in Davis with the sixth run on a single.
The lead didn’t last long, however, as Benton tacked on two runs in the top of the third to take a 7-6 lead.
Bryant tied it in the bottom of the inning on singles by Ledbetter, Glasgow and Orender.
Bryant held Benton off the scoreboard for the only inning in the fourth and proceeded to reclaim the lead with two runs in the home half. Schroeder singled, took second when Bessire grounded out and scored on a double by Day. Dillon singled to drive in Day to make it 9-7.
But Benton rallied for three runs in the top of the fifth to go up 10-9 and came within two outs of winning before Bryant’s comeback.
