DUMAS — The Bryant Athletic Association 9-year-old All-Stars reached the semifinals of the State[more] Tournament but wound up settling for third place after suffering tough losses to the two teams from Little Rock Junior Deputy. On Monday, the A team from Little Rock scored five times in the top of the third to break open their game on the way to a 9-1 win.
In the losers bracket final, Bryant’s Stars took on the B team from Junior Deputy, a team they had defeated earlier in the tourney. But this time, the Little Rock team jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held on for a 10-5 win to end Bryant’s bid for the State title.
The Bryant Stars, with Jeremy Morrow as manager, include Evan Barrett, Carson Burnett, Gavin Burton, Luke Dreher, Caleb Greiner, Drew Hatman, Connor Martin, Colby Morrow, Cade Parker, J.T. Parker, Turner Seelinger, Hayden Thompson and Logan White.
LR Junior Deputy B 10, Bryant 5
JD put together three hits to go with a pair of walks to score four times in the first three more hits to take advantage of a trio of walks in the second to build the early advantage.
Bryant, held to a single by White over the first two innings, broke through in the third when Seelinger beat out an infield hit and J.T. Parker doubled. Barrett drove in a run with a groundout then so did Martin before White singled and Burton walked to keep the inning going. But Little Rock wriggled off the hook.
In the fourth, Bryant surged again. Morrow led off with a single to left and Dreher smacked a double. Cade Parker drove in a run with a hit, taking second on the throw to the plate that kept Dreher at third. But, after Seelinger was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Martin drove in two with a double to right-center, making it 8-5.
With runners at second and third, however, Junior Deputy got the final out to send it to the bottom of the inning. They tacked on a pair of runs to extend the margin. Despite a double by Thompson, Bryant could not cut into the lead in the fifth, however.
In the bottom of the fifth, Junior Deputy was retired without scoring. Seelinger singled with one out in the top of the sixth but Little Rock turned a doubleplay to end it.
LR Junior Deputy A 8, Bryant 1
Despite putting runners on base in each of the first two innings, Bryant was unable to dent the plate. Meanwhile, Junior Deputy scored three in the first and another in the second to take a 4-0 lead.
The five-run third broke the game open though Bryant tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the inning when Martin singled with one out and advanced on a groundout by White. Burton doubled him in and, with walks to Thompson and Morrow, the Stars loaded the bases only to have Junior Deputy get the final out before any more damage could be done.
A single by Greiner and a walk to Burton gave Bryant some hope in the bottom of the fifth but both were stranded as the Little Rock team closed out the win.
