JONESBORO — After going 2-1 in pool play, the Bryant 9-year-old All-Stars advanced to bracket play at the Cal Ripken Southwest Regional tournament at Joe Mack Campbell Park. They ousted Carroll County, 11-5, to reach the quarterfinals but a 15-5 loss to Southeast Oklahoma ended their bid on Sunday, July 20.
After opening with a 15-5 win over Osceola on Friday, the Bryant Stars whipped Jonesboro Red 12-0 on Saturday. In a slugfest later in the day to wrap up pool play, Biloxi, Miss., outhit Bryant 13-11.
The team, managed by Joey Small with assistance from Michael Stroud and Danny Dunn, includes Luke Bickerstaff, Dawson Brown, Drake Brown, Tucker Dunn, Braxton Fischer, Jordan Knox, Andrew Morse, Tanner Newell, Alexander Skelley, Chase Small, Dylan Stroud and Daniel Taylor.
Bryant 12, Jonesboro Red 0
Skelley and Newell combined on the one-hit shutout. Over two innings, Skelley walked three and struck out five. Newell walked one and fanned four over the next two frames.
Small, Newell and Taylor each had two hits in the game. Drake Brown and Dawson Brown each drove in two runs. Taylor drove in three.
Bryant took a 5-0 lead in the first. Dunn drew a one-out walk then scored on Taylor’s long single to right. With two down, Small ripped a triple to left and it was 2-0.
After Dawson Brown walked and stole second, Drake Brown singled to left to drive both runners home. Stroud beat out an infield hit then Skelley capped the inning with an RBI single to center.
In the second, Bickerstaff and Dunn singled then raced home on Taylor’s triple to center. An errant throw allowed him to score too. Newell cracked a triple to right and, with one out, Dawson Brown singled him in to make it 9-0.
Bryant put the finishing touches on the win in the top of the fourth. Newell beat out an infield hit with one out then so did Small. With runners at second and third, Dawson Brown picked up an RBI with a grounder to first.
After Drake Brown walked, Small scored on a wild pitch. Drake Brown scored on another errant delivery as Stroud was drawing a free pass, making it 12-0.
Biloxi, Miss., 13, Bryant 11
Trailing 10-1, Bryant rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fifth to stay alive. After Biloxi added a run in the top of the sixth, a six-run sixth-inning explosion tied the game, 11-11. But Biloxi added two in the top of the seventh then held Bryant in the bottom of the inning to secure the wild win.
Dawson Brown and Bickerstaff each had two hits in the game. Bickerstaff accounted for a pair of runs batted in.
Biloxi scored in every inning. In the first five innings, it produced two runs each. Bryant’s lone run came in the home second when Dawson Brown singled to center, took second on an errant throw, third on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out single by Stroud.
The fifth-inning rally began with a walk to Skelley. Knox tapped into a force at second but then Bickerstaff and Dunn each drew walks. Knox scored on a triple steal and Bickerstaff came in on Taylor’s groundout. That led to Newell’s RBI triple.
After Small was plunked by a pitch, Dawson Brown beat out an infield hit for an RBI and it was 10-5.
The big sixth inning comeback was ignited by a walk to Drake Brown. Stroud was hit by a pitch then Skelley drew a free pass to load the bases. Knox walked for force in a run then Bickerstaff stroked a two-run single to right.
A walk to Dunn kept the inning going. With one out, Newell’s grounder to third was misplayed and he wound up circling the bases to score on the heels of Bickerstaff and Dunn.
But Biloxi put together two singles and two doubles in the top of the seventh to snap the tie.
Bryant 11, Carroll County 5
In bracket play on Sunday, Bryant scored five runs in the bottom of the third to overcome a 4-2 deficit then held Carroll County to one run the rest of the way.
Both teams scored twice in the second. Trailing 2-0, Bryant rallied on singles by Newell and Small. With one out, Drake Brown got a squeeze bunt down to bring in Newell. Stroud followed with a single to left to plate Small.
Carroll County scored twice in the top of the third then the game-breaking home third commenced with Bickerstaff reaching on an error. Dunn singled and both moved up on a wild pitch. Taylor smacked a two-run knock to right to tie it.
Newell’s base hit set the table for Small whose double to center drove in two more. He would advance to third on Dawson Brown’s grounder to short then score on Drake Brown’s bounced to third.
Bryant tacked on a pair in the fourth. Knox walked, Bickerstaff singled and, after they moved up a base, Dunn picked up an RBI with a grounder to second. Taylor’s grounder to short got Bickerstaff home.
In the fifth, Skelley walked and, when Drake Brown’s shot to short was misplayed, it allowed both to circle the bases.
A pair of singles and a pair of walks produced a run for Carroll County in the top of the sixth but Bickerstaff, the third Bryant pitcher, got the last two outs on pop-ups.
Southeast Oklahoma 15, Bryant 5
Though Bryant grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, the bottom of the inning was a nightmare as the Oklahoma team scored 11 times. Bryant trimmed three runs off the lead in the second but was shut out the rest of the way.
In the first, Dunn singled, Taylor walked and Newell belted a two-run double. Small beat out an infield hit but Bryant could get no more.
Oklahoma took advantage of four walks and a hit batsman with seven hits in the bottom of the inning. Those included two triples and three doubles.
Bryant’s bounce-back inning in the top of the second began with a single by Stroud and a walk to Skelley. With one out, Dunn walked to load the bases for Taylor, who cracked an RBI single to right. Newell’s base hit to center plated Skelley then Small drew a walk to force in a run.
But a pair of strikeouts forced Bryant to strand three and they were held without a hit the rest of the way. Bickerstaff walked with two out in the third. In the fifth, each of the Browns drew passes.
Southeast Oklahoma tacked on single runs in the second and third then scored twice in the home fifth to make it a run-rule win.
