East, reserves spark Sox to 6-3 victory
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BENTON — If word got around that coaches Tyler Brown and Ozzie Hurt played their starters in one game and plugged in their reserves in another during a doubleheader at Benton on Wednesday; and that their team, the Everett Black Sox Junior American Legion team of Bryant, split the two games, those who heard would probably assume that the Sox won with their starters and lost with their reserves.
After the regulars suffered an 11-1 loss in a lackluster performance in the opening game, reserves Drew Brown, Diego Vargas, Collin Welch, Garrett Jarvis and Noah Easterling each contributed offensively as the Sox came back in game two, earning a 6-3 win over the Panthers Junior Legion team at Benton High School field.
It didn’t hurt the Bryant cause, of course, that right-hander Jake East came through on the mound, allowing just three hits and striking out 11 batters in the five-inning game, as the Sox improved to 15-5 overall this season going into tonight’s doubleheader against Centerpoint.
Jarvis drove in two runs in the game. He had a hit as did Brown and Vargas. Welch was on base three times and Easterling twice. Connor Tatum contributed an RBI triple to highlight Bryant’s five-run fourth. Jordan Gentry singled in a run as well.
“Those guys wanted to be in there,” Coach Brown stated. “I gave them an opportunity and they did well with it. They had great at-bats. They didn’t give in with balls being thrown, didn’t get over-anxious wanting to swing the bat even though some of them haven’t swung it all year. And when they did get a good pitch, most of them put the barrel on it and put a good drive on it. They did what we had to do, got some good bunts down.
“I’m very proud of those guys,” he added. “We ask a lot out of them, keeping an energy level in the dugout most of the time because they’re not in there. They got their opportunity and they did very well. I was very impressed with them.”
East retired 10 of the last 12 batters he faced and didn’t give up a hit after Coltyn Lane’s RBI single with two down in the second.
“That was his best outing of the year,” the coach said of East. “Eleven strikeouts out of 15 outs — that’s impressive. He’s struggled all year with finding a second pitch that he can throw for a strike and tonight he had it. When he’s throwing that pitch for a strike, he’s able to sneak some fastballs in there and he’s hard to hit.”
Benton took a 1-0 lead in the first on an unearned run. Lane singled and went all the way to third when Austin Harklau’s sacrifice bunt resulted in a wild throw to first. The run scored on a wild pitch while East was in the process of striking out the next three batters.
Bryant tied it in the second. Drew Brown walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Vargas then placed a bunt perfectly and beat it out for a hit as Brown took third. Beaux Bonvillain was robbed of a hit on a back-handed stab just inside the line by third baseman Jacob Cooper. Brown was thrown out at the plate but Bonvillain hustled into second as Vargas took third.
The first of three walks to Welch followed then Jarvis drew a free pass to force in the tying run. Easterling made a bid for an RBI single but Harklau, the Benton shortstop, made a nice play up the middle and turned it into a doubleplay.
In the home third, East struck out the first two, giving him five in a row, then came within a strike of fanning Brewer. But, after fouling off a pitch, Brewer drew a walk and stole second. Callahan singled up the middle to drive him home and, after taking second on the throw to the plate, he scored on Lane’s base hit.
East walked Harklau but then struck out Whitaker to end the threat.
The Sox appeared to have a run in the third when Gentry walked with two out and Drew Brown singled to left. Vargas hit one up the middle but, with the outfield playing shallow all night, Lane was able to charge the ball and throw to second in time to force Brown, ending the inning.
In the fourth, however, Bonvillain shot a solid single to right and stole second. A passed ball got him to third and, after Welch walked, Jarvis pulled an RBI single to left to make it 3-2. Easterling walked to load the bases for Logan Allen who tied it with a sacrifice fly.
Jarvis put the Sox in the lead by scampering home on a wild pitch then Tatum ripped a 1-1 pitch into the right-field corner for his RBI triple. When Gentry singled him in, it was 6-3.
East pitched around a one-out walk in the fourth and an error in the fifth. He ended the game by striking out the side.
