By Rob Patrick
BAUXITE — After managing just three hits in their 10-2 win over Little Rock Blue earlier[more] in the day, the Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion team cracked 10 Saturday afternoon.
The difference? They saw more strikes from the pitchers for the Sheridan Yellowjackets.
And the result was a 7-1 win as they improved to 2-0 in pool play for the Legion competition in the 29th annual Wally Hall Tournament of Champions, played at Miners Field.Seven of the nine starters for the Sox hit safely. Tyler Green and Josh Davis each had two hits and Tryce Schalchlin had one off the bench.
“We sprayed the ball around and we got the bunts down finally in this game,” commented Sox coach Jimmy Parker. “Once we started doing that, things started happening in bunches it seemed like for us. We got hits all throughout the order which was good, top and bottom of the order.
“I’m proud the way Davis has played so far,” he added. “Josh has really played well. All of the guys are playing pretty good right now. I’m happy so far.”
Bryant was set to play Benton at 8:30 on Sunday evening to wrap up pool play.
On the mound, Tyler Nelson picked up the win, allowing just one run while scattering seven hits over the first four innings. He walked no one and fanned three. Tyler Green relieved in the fifth and allowed just two walks in three innings of hitless relief.
“Sheridan’s a good team,” Parker noted. “They have some talented kids. Ty threw well, kept them off balance then Tyler Green came in and did really well.”
Bryant established a 4-0 lead in the opening inning. Green singled to left then Nelson plugged the gap in right center. Marcus Wilson drew a walk to load the bases and a passed ball allowed the first run to score. Schachlin, serving as a courtesy runner, came home on a wild pitch as Daniel Richards drew a free pass, making it 2-0.
Cody Gogus muscled a single up the middle to chase home Wilson and Trevor Ezell hit a roller to the right side that Sheridan second baseman Grady Finley could only knock down with a lunge and the Sox had their four runs.
In the bottom of the first, Sheridan pitcher Luke Nannemann lashed a one-out drive down the left-field line. Wilson raced over to field the ball then fired a long one-hop throw to Ozzie Hurt at second to nail Nannemann trying to stretch to a double. Nelson induced a comebacker from Finley to retire the side.
Nannemann settled in after the opening frame. He issued a walk to Nelson in the second but then retired five in a row.
Sheridan got its lone run in the bottom of the second when Zach Perkins yanked a double down the line that was hit too hard for Wilson to get to. Ryan Taylor slapped a single to right to drive him home.
The inning continued with a bloop single to right by Justin Glidden but Nelson got Wyatt Daggett to fly to left then struck out Jake Crenshaw. An infield hit by Braden Lunday loaded the bases but lead-off batter Billy Wicker lined out to Cambron in right and the Jackets stranded three.
The Sox got the run back in the home third when, with two down, Davis and Hurt both singled to left. And when Hurt’s hit was misplayed, the he and courtesy runner Korey Thompson reached second and third for Green who beat out a slsow roller to short for an RBI single, making it 5-1.
Nannemann and Perkins singled in the third around a strikeout. But Nelson picked Nannemann off second then Green made a nice running catch on a drive to left-center by Taylor to end the inning.
Nannemann, who wound up throwing a whopping 113 pitches, retired the side in the fourth but issued a lead-off walk to Ezell in the fifth and was replaced by Finley. Schalchlin greeted the right-hander with a Texas Leaguer behind second. Davis then got a perfect bunt down that he beat out for a hit. And, when the rushed throw to first was wild, Ezell scored.
Hurt made it 7-1 with sacrifice fly to center.
Finley shackled the Sox after that, allowing only a bunt single by Wilson in the sixth.
Nelson, after working around a hit batsman to start the fourth, gave way to Green in the fifth. The lefty, struck out two in setting the Jackets down in order in the fifth. He walked John Strange in the sixth but set down the next four as he worked into the seventh. A walk to Lunday with one out in the seventh came to naught when Wicker was out trying to beat out a bunt hit and Nannemann grounded out to Gogus at first.
BRYANT 7, SHERIDAN 1
Junior American Legion
Black Sox ab r h bi Yellowjackets ab r h bi
Green, cf-p 4 1 2 1 Wicker, ss-2b 3 0 0 0
Nelson, p 2 0 1 0 Nannemann, p-rf-cf 4 0 2 0
Schalchlin, cr 0 1 0 0 Finley, 2b-p 3 0 0 0
Graddy, c 1 0 0 0 Perkins, rf 2 1 2 0
Wilson, lf-cf 3 1 1 0 Strange, 1b 0 0 0 0
Richards, 2b 3 1 0 0 Taylor, 1b-3b 3 0 1 1
Gogus, 1b 4 0 1 1 Glidden, lf 2 0 1 0
Ezell, ss 2 1 1 1 Daggett, 3b-rf 3 0 0 0
Thompson 1 0 0 0 Crenshaw, cf-ss 3 0 0 0
Cambron, rf 2 0 0 0 Lunday, c 2 0 1 0
Schalchlin, rf-lf 2 1 1 0
Davis, c-rf 4 0 2 0
Thompson, cr 0 1 0 0
Hurt, 2b-ss 2 0 1 1
Totals 30 7 10 4 Totals 25 1 7 1
BRYANT 401 020 0 — 7
Sheridan 010 000 0 — 1
E—Wicker, Glidden, Davis, Daggett. DP—Sheridan 1. LOB—Bryant 7, Sheridan 7. 2B—Nelson. SB—Richards, Schalchlin, Green. S—Wicker. SF—Hurt.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
BRYANT
Nelson (W) 4 1 1 7 0 3
Green (S) 3 0 0 0 2 3
Sheridan
Nannemann (L) 4 6 6 7 4 4
Finley 3 1 0 3 0 3
Nannemann faced one batter in the fifth.
HBP—Glidden (by Nelson). WP—Nannemann. PB—Lunday, Graddy 2.
