Former Bryant softball, baseball players involved in post-season success stories

The unprecedented dual State championships for the Bryant Hornets baseball and Lady Hornets softball teams last weekend have not been the only post-season success stories involving athletes from Bryant. A few alums have been part of collegiate successes, with a few on-going.[more]

In softball, the highlight is the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) championship garnered by the Central Baptist College softball team which included former Lady Hornets Christen Kirchner and Hailey King.

The team finished an incredible 52-1, winning its first 40 games before losing in the second game of a doubleheader on Senior Day, April 17, to Bethel College, 10-4.

Kirchner was a freshman sensation and earned first-team All-America honors. She was sixth in the nation with a .480 batting average. In 47 games, he went 72 of 150 with 14 doubles, one triple and 16 home runs. She walked 27 times, was hit by pitches twice and scored 70 runs. She also drove in 62.

King hit .445 in 47 games, going 65 of 146. She had 16 doubles, three triples and seven homvers. She walked eight times and was hit a whopping 12 times. She scored 49 runs.

At Neosho, Mo., the renowned Crowder College baseball program is making its first-ever appearance in the National Community College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.

Freshman Tyler Sawyer of Bryant has been key to the team’s post-season success. He was the winning pitcher in a 14-4 win over Delgado Community College of New Orleans that forced a winner-take-all finale that Crowder won over Delgado as well to qualify for the World Series.

Sawyer was 2-2 in the regular season with a save. In 21 games, he’d pitched 33 1/3 innings, allowed 39 runs, 25 earned, 62 hits, 12 walks and 19 strikeouts. He had a save and posted a 6.75 ERA.

But when he got the nod for a start in the championship game of the NJCAA Regional 16 Division I tournament, he picked up the win in a 6-3 contest. He walked one and struck out six against North Central Missouri of Trenton.

David Guarno, a Bryant teammate of Sawyer’s, is out with an injury now but during the regular season, he played in 53 games. In 187 at-bats, he’d posted a .385 batting average on 72 hits. He posted 15 doubles, a triple and three homers while scoring 53 times and knocking in 47. He also stole five bases.

Crowder takes a 42-22 record into its first World Series. They were set to open on Sunday against eighth-ranked Iowa Western at 7:30 p.m. The Series is played at Grand Junction, Colo.

Tyler Pickett has been a member of the Southern Arkansas University team that reached the finals of the South Region of the Division I South Region in Tampa. Tampa University, after losing to the Muleriders, came back to capture the championship, 20-5. The win improved the team to 47-10 overall, 18-2 in the West conference of the Gulf South Conference.

Joey Winiecki and the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles were set to host the Currington Mortgage Summit League Tournament this weekend. The Eagles were set to take on Centenary.ORU takes a 27-21 overall record, entering the tourney as the No. 2 seed after going 14-6 in Summit League play.

In 43 games this season, Winiecki is hitting .340 (55 of 162), has scored 36 runs and contributed six doubles, a triple and 20 runs batted in. He’s walked 21 times, struck out 38 times and was safe trying to steal bases 9 of 12 attempts.

The Arkansas State Red Wolves are still playing as well. They’ll open the Sun Belt Conference tournament against second-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday, May 26. Bryant’s Danny Riemenschneider, a junior, has been a late-game defensive replacement and spot starter. In 17 games, he’s posted a .263 batting average on 5 of 19 with 3 runs scored, one driven in, three walks and three strikeouts.

Richie Wood wrapped up his career with the Henderson State Reddies who finished 31-18 overall and 12-8 in the Gulf South. In 44 games, Wood led the team with 27 steals in 29 attempts. He hit .287 (48 of 167), scored 34 runs and drove in 27 with 13 doubles, two triples and two homers.

At Lyon College, Sarah Hart’s freshman softball season concluded with the team finishing 15-27 overall, 4-10 in Gulf South action. Hart started 40 of the 41 games she played in and finished with a .255 batting average (26 of 102) with 15 runs scored, three doubles and nine batted in. She walked 16 times, struck out just 22 times and had a team-high six sacrifices.

At Ouachita Baptist University, Michael Haydon got into six games for the Tigers. He was 1 of 4 (.250) with a double. He was hit by a pitch twice and struck out once. OBU went 24-23 overall this season, 8-11 in the West Division of the Gulf South and failed to qualify for the conference tournament.