BENTON — The Bryant Hornets 7-year-old tournament team won the championship of the third leg of the Everett GMC Triple Crown tournament at Bernard Holland Park in Benton over the weekend. Completing a five-game sweep in pool play and bracket play, the team captured the title with a 14-6 win over the Rawlings Arkansas Prospects on Sunday.
Members of the team are J.A. Allen, Gavin Benson, Carter Brown, Cooper Chism, Zack Covert, Avery Heidelberg, Drake Holland, Landon Jackson, E.J. McCoy, Andrew Schroeder, Braxton Speer, Aiden Stout and Hudson Thomason. Coaches are Patrick Schroeder, C.J. Brown, Brad Chism and Jeff Jackson.
The team opened pool play on Saturday with an 8-6 win over the Prospects. A 9-0 win over the Sylvan Hills Bears completed the pool play sweep. On Sunday, the Hornets opened bracket play with a 13-5 win over the River City Pirates. In the semifinals, they edged the Southern Slam 10-9.
Championship game
Bryant Hornets 14, Rawlings Arkansas Prospects 6
Big innings carried Bryant to victory in the title game with six in the first and seven in the third.
The Prospects grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the first but the Hornets trumped that in the home half when Allen, Heidelberg and McCoy got things started with base hits. Errors allowed Benson and Brown to reach base a runs scored. Thomason’s single was misplayed and, when Speer singled him home, it was 6-3.
Rawlings trimmed a run off the margin in the top of the third but Bryant’s game-breaking uprising followed, sparked by Heidelberg’s lead-off double. McCoy doubled him in and, after Benson’s drive was misplayed, Brown and Thomason rapped singles. Speer’s grounder to third was booted and, with one out, Stout and Holland raked base hit and it was 13-4.
The Prospects tried to rally in the top of the fourth but managed just to whittle just two runs off the margin.
A pair of errors allowing Benson to reach then score as Brown got on completed the rout.
Bryant Hornets 10, Southern Slam 9.
Jackson ripped a one-out triple in the bottom of the fifth then scored when McCoy’s drive to center was misplayed, snapping a 9-9 tie. The Hornets then retired the Slam 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth to close out the victory.
Bryant led early. It was 4-0 after the first inning. Jackson singled and Heidelberg reached on an error. McCoy’s tapper was misplayed then Benson ripped a single to drive in runs. Brown’s grounder to short was misplayed then Thomason cracked a base hit to make it 4-0.
Southern Slam scored three in the top of the second but the Hornets answered with five. Stout doubled to open the inning, moved to third on Holland’s grounder and scored on a single by Covert. With two down, Allen laced a double and Jackson, Heidelberg, McCoy and Benson delivered consecutive RBI singles to make it 9-3.
But the Slam didn’t go away, rallying for five runs in the top of the third and tying it with a run in the top of the fourth.
Bryant managed just one base-runner in those two innings but came through in the clutch to regain the lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Bryant Hornets 13, River City Pirates 5
Another big inning provided the impetus for Bryant’s bracket opening win. With the game tied 3-3, the Hornets erupted for five runs in the home third to gain the upper hand for good.
Allen doubled, Jackson reached on an error and Heidelberg ripped a two-run triple to account for the first two runs in the bottom of the first. Benson got Heidelberg home when he tap to second was booted.
River City pushed two runs across in the top of the second and another in the top of the third to lock it up.
Bryant’s tale-tell third began with singles by Covert and Schroeder. With two down, Heidelberg kept the inning alive with a single. McCoy followed with a run-scoring double. Benson’s bouncer on the infield was misplayed then Brown singled and Speer spanked a double to make it 8-3.
The Pirates rallied for two in the top of the fourth but Bryant got those back in the home half on a single by Stout and a pair of doubles by Holland and Covert.
And when River City couldn’t get anything going in the top of the fifth, Bryant put the finishing touches on the victory in the bottom half with the help of two errors and a base hit by McCoy.
Bryant Hornets 9, Sylvan Hills Bears 0
Sylvan Hills managed to get a runner past first only once and finished with just four batters reaching base overall in four innings.
Bryant took control early with a six-run first. Five errors by the Bears helped while Thomason, Jackson and Stout clubbed singles.
In the third, McCoy doubled and Benson’s single to center was misplayed. With one out, Thomason plated a run with a single. He advanced on Chism’s grounder to first then scored on a single by Jackson to make it 9-0.
Bryant Hornets 8, Rawlings Arkansas Prospects 6
In a seesaw battle, Bryant fell behind 6-5 after two innings but then held the Prospects scoreless over the final four innings. The Hornets rallied for a tying run in the top of the third then took the lead with a run in the fifth. A six-inning tally capped the victory.
Bryant struck first. In the opening inning, Allen doubled. With one out, Heidelberg singled and McCoy drove both home with a two-bagger. Benson reached on an error then Thomason came through with a two-out, two-run single.
The Prospects cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first. Bryant answered with a run in the top of the second on hits by Jackson and Stout.
But Rawlings erupted for four runs in the home second to grab the lead. The Prospects had runners on base in three of the last four innings but the Hornets prevented them from tacking on.
The tying run in the third came when Schroeder singled, advanced on a groundout by Allen and scored on a single by Speer.
In the fifth, Jackson scored the winning run after blasting a double. Chism, who had reached on an error before Jackson’s hit was thrown out trying to score on Stout’s grounder. Jackson, at third, came in on Holland’s grounder to make it 7-6.
Singles by Speer and Heidelberg and an error that allowed Benson to reach produced the final run.
