Hornets dismiss Texarkana in 5
Photo by Rick Nation
What are the odds?
Jason Hastings (Photo by Rick Nation)
For the fourth straight time, dating back to their game on March 31, 2012, the final score between the Bryant Hornets and the Arkansas High Razorbacks of Texarkana was 11-1 when they met Wednesday night.
The Hornets, in fact, defeated the Hogs 11-1 both times they played last year as well as that previous meeting.
Of course, it’s just happenstance and there’s no guarantee it’ll be the same when the Hornets travel to Texarkana on May 2, but . . .
In Wednesday’s meeting, a make-up game for one that was rained out on Tuesday, Bryant scored in each of its four at-bats while right-hander Zack Jackson and lefty Jason Hastings limited the Razorbacks who had three of their four hits in the game in the third, producing their run.
Hastings worked the last two innings, pitching around a pair of errors.
Trevor Ezell and Justin Emmerling each had two hits for Bryant. Brandon Warner and Trey Breeding each drove in a pair.
Braden Warner, no relation, had two hits and drove in the lone Texarkana run.
The win improved the Hornets to 4-1 in league play pending a trip to Lake Hamilton this Friday.
With the help of a pair of nifty defensive plays by Ezell as short and by Korey Thompson at second, Jackson pitched around Braden Warner’s first hit in the opening frame.
Trey Breeding (Photo by Rick Nation)
In the home half, Hogs’ starter Hunter McGilberry struggled to find the strike zone. He walked Ezell, hit Drew Tipton with a pitch, then issued free passes to Chase Tucker and Breeding to produce the first run.
Harrison Flanagan came on to pitch and induced a grounder to his shortstop Hayden Phillips off the bat of Hastings. Phillips misplayed it and Tipton scored. Tucker crossed the plate when the Flanagan got Dalton Holt to ground into a doubleplay but, a pitch later, Emmerling pulled a drive into the left-field corner for an RBI double and a 4-0 lead.
Texarkana was retired in order in the top of the second. In the home half, Ezell lined a one-out single to center, Tipton pulled a base hit into left and Tucker drove in a run with a knock. A wild pitch allowed Tipton and Tucker to move to second and third. Breeding followed with a bunt on the safety squeeze and reached when Flanagan fielded the ball and tried unsuccessfully to get Tipton at the plate.
With Connor Tatum running for Breeding, the Bryant catcher, the Hornets worked a double steal to make it 7-0. Tatum left first early, drew a throw and Tucker raced to the plate.
Singles by Tomarco Collins and Brady Chattaway opened Texarkana’s third. Jackson picked off Collins at second but he walked Phillips. Steven Boyce followed with a bloop to center. Tucker charged in and almost got there but the ball got down. Phillips, not sure if the ball would drop, played it halfway but Ezell pounced on the ball and fired to Thompson at second in time for the force.
Bryant third base coach Travis Queck, left, congratulates Brandan Warner after his two-run triple in the fourth inning Wednesday. (Photo by Rick Nation)
With Jalon Moss, a courtesy runner for Chattaway, at third, Braden Warner slapped a single to right to drive in the run.
Ezell got that run back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out drive to the base of the center-field wall for a triple. And when the relay to the infield was off-line, he came on home to make it 8-1.
The Hornets made it a run-rule lead in the bottom of the fourth. Moments after Hastings was robbed of an extra-base hit to the gap in left-center on a nice running grab by Collins, the Texarkana centerfielder, Holt drew a walk. Emmerling singled to left then Warner hit a liner to center. And when Collins broke in initially, the ball sailed over his head. Warner wound up at third with two RBIs, making it 10-1.
With Thompson at the plate, Chattaway unleashed a wild pitch and Warner scored the 11th tally.
In the fifth, Hastings truck out McGilberry but an error allowed Phillips to reach. With Boyce at the plate, however, Hastings picked Phillips off first for the second out. The game concluded when Boyce popped to Holt at first.
HORNETS 11, RAZORBACKS 1
Texarkana ab r h bi Bryant ab r h bi
Phillips, ss 2 0 0 0 Ezell, ss 2 3 2 0
Boyce, rf 3 0 0 0 Tipton, lf 1 2 1 0
Brad.Warner, 3b 2 0 2 1 Tucker, cf 2 2 1 1
Ward, 1b 2 0 0 0 Breeding, c 2 0 0 2
Jones, lf 2 0 0 0 Tatum, cr 0 1 0 0
Paxton, 2b 2 0 0 0 Hastings, rf-p 2 0 0 1
Martindale, c 2 0 0 0 Holt, 1b 2 1 0 0
Collins, cf 2 0 1 0 Emmerling,dh 3 1 2 1
McGilberry, p-ph 1 0 0 0 Bran.Warner, 3b 3 1 1 2
Flanagan, p 0 0 0 0 Thompson, 2b 3 0 0 0
Chattaway, p 1 0 1 0 Jackson, p 0 0 0 0
Moss, cr 0 1 0 0 Allen, rf 0 0 0 0
Totals 19 1 5 1 Totals 20 11 7 7
Texarkana 001 00 — 1
BRYANT 431 3x — 11
E—Phillips 2, Martindale, Chattaway, Ezell, Bran.Warner. DP—Texarkana 1. LOB—Texarkana 4, Bryant 4. 2B—Emmerling. 3B—Ezell, Bran.Warner. SB—Tucker, Tatum, Hastings.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
Texarkana
McGilberry (L) 0 4 4 0 3 1
Flanagan 2 3 3 4 1 0
Chattaway 2 4 2 3 2 0
Bryant
Jackson (W) 3 1 1 4 1 1
Hastings 2 0 0 0 0 2
McGilberry faced four batters in the first.
HBP—Tipton (by McGilberry). WP—Flanagan, Chattaway. PB—Martindale.
