BENTON — Playing in a tournament of 10-year-old teams, the Bryant Blue League 9-year-old squad split[more] four games over the weekend in a tournament at Benton.
They opened with an 11-2 win over the Diamond Dawgs. Then ran into the Pine Bluff Wolfpack, absorbing a 7-4 loss. Bryant came back with a 9-3 win over the Twisters to set up a rematch with the Wolfpack, which didn’t go any better. The Pine Bluff team prevailed 8-1.
The Bryant team includes Dakota Clay, Noah Davis, Cooper Davis, Peyton Dillon, Will Hathcote, Cameron McDonald, Justin Orender, Ryan Riggs, Austin Schroeder, Lawson Speer, Joshua Turner and Garrett Wilson.
Pine Bluff Wolfpack 8, Bryant 1
For two innings, it was a scoreless ballgame. Wilson, Bryant’s starting pitcher, had worked out of a first-inning jam and had retired four in a row going into the third. But the Wolfpack put together a six-run third to take control of the game. Noah Davis came on in relief to get out of the inning but the Wolfpack added two runs in the fourth to put the game away.
Bryant had base-runners in every inning but couldn’t break through until the fourth when, with two out, Hathcote and Schroeder singled, Cooper Davis was hit by a pitch and Orender singled to bring in the run.
Bryant 9, Twisters 3
Bryant put up crooked numbers in each of its three at-bats and, after each had initial trouble, Wilson and Dillon made it hold up.
The Twisters got a run in the top of the first but Bryant got four. Noah Davis walked and stole his way to third. McDonald singled and stole second then Dillon was hit by a pitch. Wilson followed with a base hit and, after Clay bounced out to short, Schroeder and Cooper Davis singled to make it 4-1.
Wilson, after striking out the last two in the first, fanned the side in the second to make it five straight. In the bottom of the inning, Bryant’s bats went back to work with McDonald and Dillon rapping base hits and Wilson belting a double as the lead grew to 6-1.
With Dillon taking over on the mound in the third, the Twisters took advantage of a walk and a hit batsman and scored twice to cut into the lead but, again, Bryant trumped that output in its turn.
Cooper Davis’ double got the uprising started. Orender singled and, with one out, Speer was hit by a pitch. With two down, Dillon smacked a double to right-center. Walks to Wilson and Clay forced in a final run.
Dillon ended the game in flurry in the fourth, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
Wolfpack 7, Bryant 4
With four runs in the first and three in the second, the Pine Bluff team took a 7-0 lead in the first meeting between the two teams. But after McDonald came in as the third Bryant pitcher and worked around a one-out single to keep it 7-0, Bryant put together a rally in the top of the fourth.
After the first seven batters of the game had been set down, Bryant had made some noise in the third with singles by Hathcote and Schroeder. Orender was hit by a pitch and it loaded the bases but Turner hit a liner that was caught by the Wolfpack shortstop and throw to third ended the inning with a double play.
In the fourth, however, walks to Noah Davis and Speer set the stage for a four-run inning that wound up ending with the potential tying run at the plate. Davis stole third and scored on a base hit by McDonald. With Speer at third, McDonald stole second. Dillon drove in two with a hit but was thrown out trying to advance to second. With two down, Clay walked, advanced on a balk and, after Davis reached base, Hathcote beat out an infield hit that drove in the fourth run.
Time ran out in the bottom of the fourth and the Wolfpack held on for the win.
Bryant 11, Diamond Dogs 2
Dillon, Wilson and Noah Davis each pitched a shutout inning as Bryant amassed it’s 11-0 lead. The Diamond Dogs scratched out two runs in the fourth to avoid being blanked.
Bryant scored twice in the first. Speer singled and stole his way to third then scored on a base hit by McDonald. After moving up on a wild pitch, McDonald raced home on a double by Dillon.
In the second, Clay ignited the offense with a single and a stolen base. Cooper Davis doubled him in then scored on a single by Turner to make it 4-0.
A seven-run third wiped out any mystery about the outcome. Speer instigated the outburst with a single. Again, he stole his way to third and scored on a base hit by McDonald. He stole second and, with one out, Wilson singled him in. Clay walked and, with two down, Turner and Schroeder smacked singled. Hathcote and Orender put the finishing touches on the win with back-to-back doubles.
