SHERWOOD — The name of the game is scoring runs but it’s often defense that really makes the difference between winning and losing.
Such was the case for the Bryant 6-year-old All-Stars on Sunday in the State tournament against Cabot.
The two teams had slugged their way to a 12-10 battle through four innings. In the fifth, Bryant protected its lead by making the plays on defense. After lead-off single, Bryant got a force out. Another single followed to put the potential tying runs on base but a pop up was caught by Josh Day and when he threw to Orender at first in time, the resulting doubleplay ended the game.
Bryant advanced to the winners bracket final on Monday at 6 p.m., against the rival Benton team with a spot in the championship round on the line.
The Bryant 6 year olds, coached by Matt Orender with assistance from Patrick Schroeder and Jimmy Pennington, include Luke Bessire, Clay Curtis, Cooper Davis, Josh Day, Peyton Dillon, Gavin Glasgow, Austin Ledbetter, Jagger Littleton, Justin Orender, Brett Pennington, Austin Schroeder, and Blaine Sears.[more]
After a scoreless first, Cabot put a run on the board in the second and had the bases loaded when the final out was recorded.
In the bottom of the inning, Bryant took the lead with four runs, all scoring after two were out. Singles by Curtis and Sears set things up. Bessire drilled a double and Day pounded a home run.
Cabot answered by scoring the maximum six runs in the top of the third to take a 7-4 lead.
Bryant, however, tied it in the bottom of the inning. Schroeder and Pennington led off with singles and Ledbetter chased them home with a triple. A base hit by Glasgow tied it.
Cabot got those three back in the top of the fourth, building a 10-7 lead. In the bottom of the inning, though, Bryant went back to work and plated five to build the lead that held for the victory.
The game-winning outburst began with consecutive singles by Bessire and Day. With one out, Davis drilled a two-run double. Schroeder kept the inning going with a single but was forced at second on a grounder by Pennington. With two down, Ledbetter came through with a double and so did Glasgow, capping off the scoring.
