By Rob Patrick
While five innings proved to be fine for the Everett Black Sox of Bryant in the first game, they[more] weren’t quite enough in the second as they split with the Clarksville Tropics in AA American Legion action at Bryant High School Field Wednesday night.
The Sox won the first game 6-2 then fell behind 3-0 early in the second contest. A fifth-inning rally, in which they had the winning run in scoring position, came up short.
Now 18-5 on the season, Everett returns to action Friday night at home against Lakeside.
In the opener, Cody Gogus slugged his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the first inning to put the Sox on the road to victory. Trevor Ezell had singled and stolen second on the play. He was on his way to stealing third as well when, with two down, Gogus unloaded on a 2-0 delivery from Clarksville starter Brett Wilkins.
Gogus was the starter on the mound for the Sox and shut out the Tropics without a hit through three innings. He hit a pair of batters in the first but the Sox turned a doubleplay to get out of the jam. In the second, Taylor Moudy walked but was thrown out trying to steal by catcher C.J. Phillips. An error and a walk had Clarksville threatening again in the third but Phillips threw out the lead runner, Seth Siebenmorgan when he tried to swipe third.
In the meantime, Bryant got two more runs. Chase Tucker walked to start the bottom of the second, Phillips did the same. On an errant pickoff throw, Tucker faced all the way home making it 3-0. Though Phillips was picked off first moments later, a two-out single by Ezell led to another run. Jason Hastings walked then Wes Akers cracked a single to right to drive in the run.
The Sox loaded the bases with two out in the third when Tucker and Phillips were hit by a pitches from reliever Dalton Lorenz and Austin Caldwell singled. But Lorenz wriggled off the hook.
In the fourth, Lorenz walked with one out then scored when Moudy plugged the gap in left-center for a triple. He came home as well on Wilkins’ grounder to short, making it 4-2.
Bryant pushed the lead back to four runs in the bottom of the inning. Hastings and Akers each had hits and when Akers’ ball was misplayed in right, he wound up at third as Hastings scored. Gogus’ sacrifice fly brought in Akers.
The right-hander retired the first two in the top of the fifth on comebackers including a one-out bunt by David Johnson. Kamron Hurst singled but when Brandon Wolski dumped a base hit into shallow center, Hurst was caught between second and third and tagged out to end the game.
To start the second game, Hurst walked and, an out later, Jace Hudson reached on an error. A hit batsman loaded the bases and a wild pitch allowed a run to score. With two down, Johnson blooped a hit to right that Harrison Dale nearly flagged down. Hudson and Lorenz each scored before Johnson was thrown out trying to get to second.
Wolski shackled the Sox without a hit for four innings. They still managed to get a run. It came after Bryant starter Devin Dupree worked out of a jam in the top of the second. Dalton Nehus had singled and Siebenmorgan had doubled to star the frame. But Dupree picked Nehus off third, struck out Chance Stiners after a bunt went just foul on a squeeze attempt. Hurst bounced out to Ezell at short and the Tropics came up empty.
In Bryant’s second, Dale was issued a one-out walk. He advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches and, with two down, Korey Thompson walked. When the count went to 2-2 on Dupree, the next batter, Thompson took off early from second and got into a rundown just long enough for Tucker to race home, avoiding the late tag.
Dupree struck out the first two batters in the top of the third before Lorenz doubled down the line in left. But the right-hander retired Moudy on a grounder to Akers at third to keep it 3-1.
Still, the Sox were unable to break through with even a hit. Wolski pitched around a two-out walk to Ezell in the third then, in the fourth, he hit Dale with two down. A wild pitch and an errant throw on another ball in the dirt, allowed him to reach third. But he was stranded.
Akers had taken over the mound for Bryant in the top of the fourth. He wound up retiring six of seven to finish the game. He fanned four including all three in the fifth.
Thompson broke up Wolski’s no-hit bid with a solid single to left to start the bottom of the fifth. Hudson took over and was greeted by Dupree’s single to left-center. Phillips followed with a bunt that was better than a sacrifice. No one had a play on it and he was on with a base hit.
Ezell followed with a chopper to third. Lorenz through home for a force but, moments later, a passed ball allowed Caldwell, in as a pinch-runner, to sprint home, making it 3-2 and moving the potential tying and winning runs into scoring position.
Hastings struck out on a borderline call then Akers worked a walk to load the bases for Gogus. After fouling off a pair of two-strike deliveries, the Bryant slugger hit a bouncer to third. Lorenz made the play and ended the game with a strong throw to first.
Akers, held without a hit in the second game, saw his 14-game hitting streak come to an end as did Ezell, who had hit safely in nine in a row.
BRYANT EVERETT BLACK SOX 6, CLARKSVILLE TROPICS 2
AA AMERICAN LEGION
Game one
Tropics ab r h bi Black Sox ab r h bi
Hurst, cf 1 0 0 0 Ezell, ss 3 2 1 0
Wolski, 3b-1b 2 0 1 0 Hastings, lf 2 1 1 0
Hudson, ss 1 0 0 0 Akers, 1b 3 1 2 1
Lorenz, 1b-p 1 1 0 0 Gogus, p 2 1 1 3
Moudy, c 1 1 1 1 Dale, 3b 2 0 0 0
Stines, cr 0 0 0 0 Thompson, 2b 2 0 0 0
Wilkins, p-1b 2 0 0 1 Tucker, cf 1 1 0 0
Nehus, rf 2 0 0 0 Phillips, c 0 0 0 0
Siebenmorgan, 2b 2 0 0 0 Patterson, cr 0 0 0 0
Johnson, lf 2 0 0 0 Oglesby, cr 0 0 0 0
Caldwell, rf 2 0 1 0
Totals 14 2 2 2 Totals 17 6 6 4
Clarksville 000 20 — 2
BRYANT 220 2x — 6
E—Moudy, Akers, Nehus, Hudson. DP—Clarksville 1, Bryantg 1. LOB—Clarksville 3, Bryant 7. 3B—Moudy. HR—Gogus. SB—Wolski, Ezell. SF—Gogus.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
Clarksville
Wilkins (L) 2 4 2 3 3 1
Lorenz 2 2 1 3 0 0
Bryant
Gogus (W) 5 2 2 2 4 4
Balk—Gogus. HBP—Wolski, Hudson (by Gogus), Tucker, Phillips, Thompson (by Lorenz).
CLARKSVILLE TROPICS 3, BRYANT EVERETT BLACK SOX 2
Game two
Tropics ab r h bi Black Sox ab r h bi
Hurst, cf 2 1 0 0 Ezell, ss 2 0 0 0
Wolski, p-ss 3 0 0 0 Hastings, lf 3 0 0 0
Hudson, ss-p 3 1 0 0 Akers, 3b-p 2 0 0 0
Lorenz, 1b-3b 1 1 1 0 Gogus, 1b 3 0 0 0
Moudy, 3b-2b 2 0 0 0 Dale, rf-3b 0 1 0 0
Johnson, c 2 0 1 2 Tucker, cf 2 0 0 0
Wilkins, 1b 0 0 0 0 Thompson, 2b 1 0 1 0
Nehus, lf-rf 2 0 1 0 Dupree, p-rf 2 0 1 0
Siebenmorgan, 2b-c 1 0 1 0 Caldwell, pr 0 1 0 0
Stines, rf-lf 2 0 0 0 Phillips, c 2 0 1 0
Totals 18 3 4 2 Totals 17 2 3 0
Clarksville 300 00 — 3
BRYANT 010 01 — 2
E—Ezell, Siebenmorgan, Wilkins. LOB—Clarksville 3, Bryant 5. 2B—Siebenmorgan, Lorenz. SB—Dale, Thompson.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
Clarksville
Wolski (W) 4 1 1 1 3 3
Hudson (S) 1 1 1 2 1 1
Bryant
Dupree (L) 3 3 2 4 1 5
Akers 2 0 0 0 1 4
HBP—Lorenz (by Dupree), Dale (by Wolski). WP—Dupree 2. Wolski 3. PB—Siebenmorgan.
