Bryant’s Daniel, Sawyer out-duel Benton’s Roberts
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting 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).
By Rob Patrick
BENTON — The Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team took its first step toward an eighth straight Zone 4 championship on Friday.
It wasn’t easy. It didn’t figure to be with the rival Benton McClendon’s team in the other dugout on their home field at Bernard Holland Park.
“Anytime you come over there, it’s going to be a tough game,” acknowledged Sox manager Craig Harrison. “I told the guys I’ve sat out there on that grass and I’ve cried there, I’ve talked about winning there, we’ve run-ruled them, we’ve gotten run-ruled. You never what’s going to happen anytime you come here. I told them about Cliff Lee (now with the Cleveland Indians) jumping over our catcher one year (to score the winning run).”
This time, it was a pitcher’s duel between a pair of tough lefties. For the Sox, Trent Daniel started on the mound he mounted a year ago when he struck out a team-record 19. For McClendon’s, it was Colby Roberts who was the MVP of the Class 6A State championship game this spring for the Benton Panthers.
Daniel, with relief help from Tyler Sawyer, wound up getting the best of it, 2-1.[more]
It went down to the wire too. With two out in the bottom of the seventh and runners at first-and-third (the potential tying and winning runs), Sawyer struck out Austin Pfeiffer, who had homered earlier in the game, to end it.
Pfeiffer had fouled off a pair of 0-2 pitches before swinging and missing on a big breaker from the Bryant right-hander.
“He made a beautiful pitch there to end the game,” Harrison stated. “That was the best curveball he throw all night and it was right at the knees.”
It was the 18th strikeout of the game for the Sox pitchers.
Sawyer had fanned the side after relieving to start the sixth. He struck out the first batter in the home seventh before Seth Hobbs drilled a 3-2 pitch for a single to left. The right-hander got ahead of the next batter Taron Green but, on a 1-2 pitch, Green hit a long blast to center. Bryant’s Caleb Garrett got back to the wall and made the catch, however.
Hobbs went to second on a wild pitch as Sawyer and Benton catcher Michael Long, who played at Texarkana Junior College this spring, battled. The count went to 3-2 with Long fouling off four two-strike pitches before drawing a walk as Hobbs stole third. That brought Pfeiffer to the plate.
Daniel, with a cut on the index finger of his pitching hand still healing, was able to use his curve a little more than he did in his previous outing but he walked four to go with his 13 strikeouts in five innings.
“It’s still bothering him a little bit,” Harrison said. “It’s calloused up a little, but it still stings him some. He’s working through it. He gutted it out tonight. He lost command there a little bit when he got a little tired late but you know Trent’s going to battle when he goes out there.”
Daniel worked around a two-out walk in the first, ending the inning with the first of six consecutive strikeouts. His no-hitter was busted up in the bottom of the third when Seth Hobbs drilled a double off the fence in left. Green beat out an infield hit to put runners at the corners but he fanned Long to end the threat.
By then the Sox had eked out a 2-0 lead with the help of a pair of poorly-timed infield errors by McClendon’s. Hunter Mayall led off the game with a solid single to center but Roberts retired the next two before Kaleb Jobe lined a hit to center. Roberts appeared to be out of the inning when Brady Butler hit a roller to short that Pfeiffer charged well. But his off-balance throw was in the dirt and got past first baseman Brad Abbott allowing Mayall to score.
In the third, a similar scenario unfolded. With one out, Roberts, who went the distance for Benton, issued his lone walk. Sawyer earned the free pass and Jobe followed with a chopper through the right side for his second hit. A wild pitch allowed the runners to move to second and third as Butler fanned. And, again, Roberts appeared to be out of the jam when Justin Blankenship hit a bouncer to third only to have Bo Fulcher boot the ball, allowing Sawyer to score.
That’s all the scoring the Sox would manage but the pitching made it hold up.
“We knew we were in for a tough go with their lefty out there,” commented Harrison. “He’s not over-powering but he throws strikes, changes speeds and he’s tough to center especially when we’ve got four lefties in the lineup.
“We had to overcome a little bit at the plate,” he added. “The (strike) zone moved around a little bit but, hey, you get a win here, it makes for a nice weekend. I’m proud of our team tonight.”
Pfeiffer made it a little less comfortable for the Sox when he mashed the second pitch of the bottom of the fourth deep to right. It sailed over the fence just inside the foul pole to make it 2-1.
Steven Brooks drew a walk and stole second but Daniel recovered by striking out the next two and, after issuing a walk to Blake Childress, ended the inning with another strikeout.
The Sox threatened in the fifth when Caleb Garrett and Sawyer led off with singles. But Roberts got Jobe to pop to short then induced a doubleplay ball off Butler’s bat to end the inning.
In turn, Hobbs led off the bottom of the inning with a liner that Bryant second baseman Austin Benning couldn’t haul in. As Daniel fanned Green, Hobbs stole second then took third when Jobe, the Bryant catcher, tried to throw behind him when he took a big turn around the second base bag.
Long struck out on a pitch in the dirt that got past Jobe. After locating the ball, Jobe fired to first as Hobbs raced home with what would’ve been the tying run. Jobe’s throw hit Long in the back which appeared to ensured his reaching first. But, on appeal, it was ruled that Long wasn’t running in the first-base lane. So instead of having a run in and a man at first with one down, Long became the second out and Hobbs had to return to third. The score remained 2-1.
Pfeiffer drew a walk to bring up Steven Brooks with runners on the corners. On an 0-1 delivery, Brooks grounded to Sawyer at short. His throw to first was just in time to retire the speedy batter and end the inning with the lead still intact.
The Sox made a bid to add to the lead in the top of the seventh but Roberts worked off the hook after Mayall reached on an error and Sawyer lined a single to left.
The win improved Bryant to 5-1 overall with another league game set for Monday, June 1, at Pine Bluff.
BRYANT BLACK SOX 2, BENTON MCCLENDON’S TV & APPLIANCE 1
AAA American Legion
Black Sox McClendon’s
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Mayall, 3b 4 1 1 0 Hobbs, 2b 4 0 2 0
Garrett, cf 4 0 1 0 Green, lf 4 0 1 0
Sawyer, ss-p 3 1 2 0 Long, c 2 0 0 0
Jobe, c 4 0 2 0 Pfeiffer, ss 3 1 1 1
Butler, 1b 3 0 0 0 Brooks, cf 2 0 0 0
Wade, ss 0 0 0 0 Abbott, 1b 2 0 0 0
Blankenship, rf 3 0 0 0 Caplinger, 1b 1 0 0 0
Bullock, lf 3 0 0 0 Fulcher, 3b 3 0 0 0
Wells, dh-1b 3 0 0 0 Childress, rf 2 0 0 0
Benning, 2b 3 0 1 0 Wilson, dh 3 0 0 0
Daniel, p 0 0 0 0 Roberts, p 0 0 0 0
Totals 30 2 7 0 Totals 26 1 4 1
Bryant 101 000 0 — 2
Benton 000 100 0 — 1
E—Pfeiffer 2, Fulcher, Benning, Jobe. DP—Benton 1. LOB—Bryant 8, Benton 9. 2B—Hobbs. SB—Brooks, Hobbs.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
Bryant
Daniel (W) 5 1 1 3 4 13
Sawyer (S) 2 0 0 1 1 5
Benton
Roberts (L) 7 2 0 7 1 6
WP—Roberts, Sawyer.
