Bryant AA tunes up for Zone tourney by out-slugging Lakeside
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
It had been a dozen days since the Sport Shop Black Sox AA American Legion team last played but the rest appeared to do them good when they hit the field against the Hot Springs Lakeside Rams on Tuesday night. The Sox hammered out 12 hits including three each by C.J. Phillips and Bailey Bowers on the way to a 12-8 victory.
The game was a final tune-up for both teams ahead of the Zone 4 AA Tournament at Lakeside, which starts Friday. The Sox open against Malvern at 5:30 p.m. In addition to Lakeside, Malvern and Bryant, the Zone includes Sheridan and Hot Springs Village.
Joey Cates was the winning pitcher in Tuesday’s contest. He allowed just one hit over four innings. Still, Lakeside built a 4-0 lead, taking advantage of the right-hander’s early struggled with his control. But he finished well, retiring seven of the last eight men he faced before Daniel Darbonne took over in the fifth.
At the plate, Cates went 2 for 3 with a pair of walks. He scored twice.
The Rams coaches were using the game as an opportunity to get work for several pitchers. Starter Jonathan Barmore worked out of a jam in the first with the help of a strong relay. Cates walked and stole second then tried to score on Darbonne’s single to right. Tanner Rice made a strong throw to the cutoff man, Brandon Hall, who fired home in time to nab Cates.
Bryant broke through in the third off reliever Andrew Spakes. Walks to Darbonne, Cates and Dakota Besancon loaded the bases for Phillips who beat out an infield hit to pick up an RBI. Bowers hit a chopper up the middle for an RBI single then Justin Emmerling got Besancon home with a grounder to third.
Phillips scored the tying run on a wild pitch as Caleb Chaffin walked. Bradley Plunkett worked a free pass to load the bases for Aston Schropshire who drove in the go-ahead run with a grounder to second.
After Cates worked a 1-2-3 top of the fourth, the Sox resumed their scoring. Cates sparked that against Hall, the third Lakeside pitcher. He singled up the middle, took second on a wild pitch then stole third. With one out, Phillips and Bowers belted consecutive doubles, extending the lead to 7-4.
Emmerling beat out an infield hit then Bowers scored when Chaffin bounced into a force at second.
Singles by Conrad Carlton, Colton O’Keefe and Zac Goins produced a run for Lakeside in the top of the fifth. Eric Aguirre rolled into a force at second the get O’Keefe home. That made it 8-6.
Darbonne prevented further damage in the sixth when he worked around a two-out walk to Harrison Russell and a double by Carlton.
The Sox padded the lead in the sixth to make it a little more confortable for Besancon to finish up on the mound. The Bryant outburst was triggered by Phillips’ third hit of the game. Bowers was struck by a pitch from Hunter Lindsey and, with one out, Chaffin singled in a run.
A walk to Bradley Plunkett loaded the bases. Bowers came in on a passed ball then Darbonne lined a single to right to drive in a pair, making it 12-6.
Singles by O’Keere, Goins and Aguirre started the seventh. A walk to Kyle Lightsey forced in a run then Lindsey drove a sacrifice fly to right. But Besancon ended it there by retiring the next two, ending it with a strikeout of Russell.
