Hornets cruise to first diamond league win
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 courtesy of Samantha Breeding
Blaine Knight (Photo courtesy of Samantha Breeding)
The Bryant Hornets forged a run-away win just hours before they literally run off to Florida for a spring break tournament.
Blaine Knight tossed a one-hitter over five innings, striking out eight and walking two. The right-hander set down the first 11 Pine Bluff batters of the game, the first four on strikes.
The Hornets used eight hits to take advantage of six walks, a hit batsman and five Zebra errors on the way to the 11-1 win. Trevor Ezell and Chase Tucker each had two hits. Tucker drove in two.
Now 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the South Conference, Bryant heads to St. Petersburg, Fla., for an eight-game event sponsored by the Tampa Bay Spring Training program. The Hornets open on Monday at 1 p.m., against a team from Calgary, Alberta in Canada. At 4, they take on a team from Rosemont, Minn.
Jason Hastings leaps to try to haul in a drive by Pine Bluff’s Kacy Higgins that wound up being the Zebras’ lone hit. (Photo courtesy of Samantha Breeding)
Games are scheduled against teams from Eastview, Minn., IMG Academy in Florida, Rockford, Ill., Christian and Plum, Pa.
Upon returning, Bryant will host conference foe Little Rock J.A. Fair on Tuesday, April 1 then travel to Sheridan for a league showdown on Friday, April 4.
Against Pine Bluff, Knight’s perfect game was concluded when Pine Bluff’s Tyler Smith drew a walk with two down in the fourth. Clean-up hitter Kacy Higgins followed with a shot just beyond the reach of right-fielder Jason Hastings, who had sprinted into the gap in pursuit. Higgins legged out an RBI triple.
Knight proceeded to strike out Jaylon DeShazier to end the inning then fanned two more around a walk in the fifth. Hastings flagged down a fly to right off the bat of Zebras’ catcher Gealander Harris III to end the game.
The Hornets took the lead against lefty Kenneth Gatewood in the bottom of the first when Drew Tipton laced one down the left-field line for a one-out double and Tucker singled him home.
Tucker stole second and Trey Breeding walked. With Hastings at the plate, Gatewood unleashed a wild pickoff throw to move runners to second and third. On a safety squeeze, Hastings picked up the RBI.
Connor Tatum, running for Breeding, came in on a balk to make it 3-0.
That remained the score into the third when, with one out, Hastings cracked a single to left. Gatewood’s second balk sent him to second and his third balk allowed him to reach third. He scored on Evan Lee’s grounder to short.
The Z’s cut it to 4-1 with their run in the top of the fourth, but the Hornets’ bats went back to work in the home half. After Brandan Warner walked and Korey Thompson sacrificed him to second, Ezell smacked a laser to left-center that sailed past Smith before he could get his glove up. Warner scored and, moments later, Ezell came in on a wild pitch as Tipton drew a walk.
Korey Thompson prepares to apply a tag on Pine Bluff’s Tyler Smith. (Photo courtesy of Samantha Breeding)
The lefty picked Tipton off first but Tucker laced a single to left and advanced on an errant pickoff throw. Breeding belted a single to center to chase Tucker in, making it 7-1.
Bryant made it a run-rule win in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four times on just one hit.
Lee was nicked by a pitch to begin the frame then Dalton Holt smacked a double to left-center. Lee scored on a wild pitch as Warner walked again. Thompson was called on to bunt again and not only got it down for the RBI, reached base when the throw to first was wild. Warner, who had been off towards second on the pitch, scored as well.
With Thompson on second and first base open, the Zebras sent Ezell to first with an intentional walk. Tipton followed with a grounder to third that was booted and the bases were loaded for Tucker, who delivered the game-ending run with a sacrifice fly to right.
Dalton Holt clubbed a double during the game-clinching four-run fifth. (Photo courtesy of Samantha Breeding)
