Bryant stays alive at The Hagan with 5-1 win
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).
MEMPHIS — Aaron Orender pitched a complete game, scattering eight hits and allowing just one run as the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team bounced back from a 7-0 loss to the Memphis Tigers to eliminate Batters Box (DeMarini) of Collierville, Tenn., on Tuesday.
Bryant advanced to the semifinals in the losers bracket to play Team Colorado in what would be the third game of the day for the Sox as they bid to reach the championship round of bracket play in the annual Keith Hagan Memorial All-American Classic.
Orender blanked the Tennessee team though five innings as the Sox built a 5-0 lead.
Jake East and Garrett Misenheimer each had two hits and two runs batted in for the Sox who broke up a scoreless duel in the bottom of the third inning.
The Sox got to Batters Box starter Kyle Moore to in the third. Joey Cates led off with a single becoming the first to reach base for Bryant. Matthew Sandidge walked but Moore fanned the next two batters. East came through in the clutch, however, clearing the bases with a triple. Misenheimer doubled him home.
Orender pitched around a lead-off single by Cade Coffman in the first and a lead-off double by Kyle Nicholson in the second. In the top of the third, Ridge Riley singled and Brelin Carroll was hit by a pitch but, with one out, Orender got Coffman to ground into an threat-ending doubleplay.
After the Sox took the lead, Batters Box put its first two runners aboard in the top of the fourth on singles by Ridge Riley and Ian Bibiloni. But Orender picked Riley off of second. Bibiloni stole second before Nicholson walked only to have the inning end on Joe Fulcher’s grounder to East at second.
Moore got through the fourth despite a single and stolen base by Orender and a walk to Sandidge. But, after Orender set down the side in order in the top of the fifth, the Sox tacked on. Logan Allen walked and East beat out a bunt for a hit to set the table for Misenheimer who singled to right to chase Allen home.
Dylan Hurt sacrificed the runners to second and third and, after Orender walked to load the bases, Seth Tucker delivered the final run with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Batters Box run came in the top of the sixth. Brandon Tyler led off with a double and, with one out, went to third on Murray’s single. The Sox traded a run for an out when Bibiloni grounded out to Misenheimer at third. The inning ended with Moore grounding out to third as well.
Allen managed a two-out bunt single in the sixth but was stranded. In the seventh, Orender recorded his fourth strikeout then got Fulcher to bounce out to Scott Schmidt at second. Jacob Gill doubled to right but Riley flew out to Tucker in left to end the game.
Special thanks to Sandy Orender
