Jason Hastings had two hits for the Hornets on Saturday. (Photo by Rick Nation)
Hornet hurlers spin second straight shutout
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continue posting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
Photos by Rick Nation
Alex Shurtleff delivers a pitch. (Photo by Rick Nation)
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Blaine Knight, Alex Shurtleff and Harrison Dale combined on the Bryant Hornets’ second shutout in as many games Saturday, a 4-0 win over the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats at Vince DeSalvo Stadium in Burns Park.
On the heels of the one-hit whitewash by Zack Jackson and Dale on Thursday against Van Buren, Knight waded through the North Little Rock lineup over the first four innings allowing only a first-inning walk to his counterpart Preston Oberling. He struck out five and retired 10 in a row before giving way to Shurtleff in the fifth.
Oberling went two innings in a tune-up for a 7A/6A-East Conference doubleheader on Tuesday, striking out the last four batters he faced after issuing a walk to Chase Tucker with two down in the first.
After that, the Hornets had four innings with runners in scoring position and scored in three of them. They had eight hits including two each by Jason Hastings and Brandan Warner.
Warner had the first hit of the game, a solid single to right to open the top of the third inning. Korey Thompson, up to sacrifice, pushed a bunt to the right side, a hump-backed liner that cleared the head of the first baseman for a base hit. Warner hustled all the way to third and, on the very next delivery from North Little Rock reliever Chandler Thompson, Trevor Ezell lofted a sacrifice fly to center to make it 1-0.
Drew Tipton followed with a single but the Charging Wildcats’ right-hander escaped further damage with a pair of strikeouts.
Dalton Holt (Photo by Rick Nation)
In the fourth, however, Hastings pulled a single into left off him. C.J. Phillips bounced into a force at second but then Dalton Holt was hit by a pitch and there was a change on the mound.
Ty Houser issued a walk to Warner to load the bases for Korey Thompson who delivered the run with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Ezell made a bid to clear the bases with a shot into the gap in right center but North Little Rock right-fielder James Kimbrell ran it down to end the inning.
Knight eased through the bottom of the fourth and finished with just 49 pitches during the outing. In the top of the fifth, his teammates padded the 2-0 lead, keyed by aggressive base-running. Tucker opened the inning with a single to left then stole second. Trey Breeding worked a walk and courtesy runner Connor Tatum teamed with Tucker on a double steal. And when the throw to third by Cats’ catcher Jovani Gonzalez got through into left field, Tucker scrambled to his feet and sprinted home to make it 3-0.
Tatum held at second on the play but, moments later, Hastings, after fouling off a pair of two-strike deliveries cracked a single to left to chase him home.
North Little Rock got its first hit of the game in the bottom of the inning, a one-out single by Lawson Dulin. But Shurtleff got Zack Rathbun to fly to Tucker in center and Gonzalez to bounce to Korey Thompson for a force to end the inning.
Brandan Warner (Photo by Rick Nation)
Warner singled to open the top of the sixth against Jacob Sandefur, the fourth North Little Rock pitcher. But he was erased in a doubleplay. Ezell lashed a double to left and took third when the throw into the infield go away. He, however, was stranded.
Kimbrell opened the bottom of the sixth with a single and, with one out, River Warnock drilled a base hit to center. But Shurtleff picked off Kimbrell for the second out and fanned Oberling to preserve the shutout.
After Sandefur worked around a hit batsman in the top of the sixth, Dale was greeted by a pair of singles by Thompson and Sanefur. An errant pickeoff throw allowed them to move up to second and third but Dale bore down and struck out Kolton Gardner and Rathbun before closing it out by inducing a pop to Warner at third off Gonzalez’ bat.
The win improved the Hornets to 5-1 on the season going into their South Conference opener at Benton on Tuesday. They take on league for, Pine Bluff, at home on Friday before heading to a tournament in Florida over spring break.
Coach Kirk Bock, left, assistant Travis Queck (18) and senior pitcher Devin Dupree (5). (Photo by Rick Nation)
Bryant catcher Trey Breeding sets up to receive a pitch as the umpire looks over his shoulder. (Photo by Rick Nation)
