The Rena Gilliam Allstate Cubs are off to a 2-1 start in the Bryant Athletic Association[more] Instructional League at Bishop Park.
They opened April 15 with a 9-6 win over Hill Development, following up on April 22 with a 7-2 win over Arvest Bank before absorbing a 6-5 loss to Elder Law Firm on April 25.
The Cubs, managed by Patrick Schroeder, include Brayden Beenken, Noah Britton, Andrew Bush, Grant Daves, Drake Holland, Brayton Liggin, Gabe McElyea, Andrew Schroeder, Kaden Sweat, Peyton Sykes and Seth Webb.
Rena Gilliam Allstate Cubs 9, Hill Development 6
Hill Development, coached by Brad Chism, includes Bentley Balisterri, Braydon Bryant, Cooper Chism, Brayden DeWitt, Devin Duck, Hayden Halbert, Ethan Henley, Stephen McCoy, Payton Perrier, Barrett Royal and Tanner Sevier.
The Cubs snapped a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the third inning to put themselves in position to win. The game-breaking inning began with a triple by Daves and, an out later, a three-bagger by Liggin. Beenken knocked in the second run with a double and, an out later, Webb raced to the third triple of the inning. Sweat made it 8-4 with an RBI infield hit.
Hill Development rallied with two in the top of the fourth. Bryant got things started with a single and, an out later, Balisterri doubled him in. Royal picked up an RBI with a groundout but the Cubs managed to escape with an 8-6 lead.
A run in the bottom of the inning on a single by Holland and a triple by Britton set the final score as time expired.
Hill had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With two down, McCoy doubled to the fence in left. He scored on a base hit by Dewitt.
But Allstate countered with a maximum four runs in the bottom of the frame. Consecutive singles by Liggin, Beenken, Schroder and Webb produced three tallies. The fourth came across the plate when McElyea cracked a one-out single.
Hill Development came back to tie it with three in the third. With two down, Sevier singled, Chism doubled and McCoy chased them both home with an inside-the-park homer.
Rena Gilliam Allstate Cubs 7, Arvest Bank 2
The Arvest team, managed by Dusty Sexton, includes Layton Baugh, Jace Cerney, Luis Hernandez, Nash Newton, Jayme Roach, William Sexton, Carter Sims, Montana Smyth, Jayden Tarrants, Jonathan Thomas and Leyton Young.
This was a tight game through 2 ½ innings. The Cubs managed a run in the bottom of the first on a single by Schroeder with two outs and a triple by Webb. In the second, McElyea opened with a triple to left-center and scored when Bush bounced out to first. A base hit by Britton and a two-base error on a ball hit by Daves made it 3-0.
Arvest Bank, in the meantime, was getting runners on base but couldn’t get them home. Hernandez got to third in the first. In the second, Sims singled with one down but was tagged out trying to take third on a two-out hit by Sexton. In the top of the third, Thomas reached on an error but was stranded.
The Cubs took control of the game in the bottom of the third. Liggin singled and scored all the way from first on Beenken’s double. Schroeder cracked a home run to right to make it 6-0. Singles by Webb and Sweat set the table for McElyea’s RBI double to max out the inning.
The Bankers didn’t go quietly in the fourth, however. Hernandez circled the bases with the help of an error to open the frame. Singles by Torrants and Young were followed by an RBI double by Sims before time ran out.
Elder Law Firm 6, Rena Gilliam Allstate Cubs 5
Elder Law Firm, coached by Justin Elrod, includes Justin Elrod, Brendan Gamet, Conner Gamet, Lyndon Johnson, Hunter McWilliams, Drake Roberts, Elem Shelby, Owen Woods, Zander Woodward and Hudson Yancey.
In a thriller, the Cubs rallied with four runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game 5-5 but Elder pushed across a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Woods to win it.
Yancey doubled to open the home fifth then Roberts reached on an interference call to bring Woods to the plate.
Allstate trailed 5-1 going into the fifth but rallied for the maximum four runs to draw even. The rally was instigated by McElyea who singled. An out later, Britton and Daves beat out infield hits to load the bases for Holland who came through with an RBI single. With two down, Liggin rapped a two-run double to make it 5-4. Holland would score the tying run on a base hit by Beenken.
The Firm led most of the game, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Yancey reached on an error and, with one out, Woods and Conner Camet singled. A two-out double by Elrod chased home Woods.
In the third, Elder added to the lead with a two-run blast by Conner Gamet. Woods, who had singled, scored on the play.
The Cubs, meanwhile, had managed a single by Beenken in the first and hits by Sweat and McElyea in the second to no avail. They broke through in the top of the fourth on hits by Schroeder and Webb.
Elder got that back in the bottom of the inning when Elrod beat out an infield hit and, with two down, scored on McWilliams’ double, setting up the dramatic fifth inning.
