By Madison McEntire
HOT SPRINGS — On Sunday, the 8-year-old Bryant All-Stars defeated the 8-year-old Benton All-Stars 9-2 in the winner's bracket finals to advance to the championship game of the District tournament.
Bryant scored three in the top of the first and then added a run in the third and two more in the fourth. In the fifth, Garett Nguyen broke open the game with a bases-loaded, three-run double.
Benton posted a win in the loser's bracket and advanced to a rematch on Monday night.
Bryant struck first in the second when Will McEntire led off with a single and eventually came around to score with two outs on a single by Logan Catton.
Benton tied the score with a run in the third and then broke open a well-played defensive game in the fourth when its first three batters opened the inning with singles to load the bases and then the fourth batter drove them all home with a grand slam over the right field fence. The next batter followed with another roundtripper over the right field wall to make the score 6-1.
Benton then held Bryant scoreless over the final two innings, forcing a winner-take-all game on Tuesday night at 6:30.
The Bryant 8-year-olds, coached by Michael Catton, include Logan Catton, Logan Chambers, Jake Cowell, Tristan Day, Cade Dupree, Logan Grant, Cobe Greiner, Sawyer Holt, Ryan Lessenberry, Nathan McFarland, Will McEntire and Garett Nguyen.
