LITTLE ROCK — A new school, a new program, a new baseball team — the Little Rock Southwest Gryphons haven’t won a game all season. They haven’t really come close. In 6A-Central Conference play, their closest loss was 10-0 against Fort Smith Northside.
On Monday night, the league-leading Bryant Hornets visited the Gryphons and, with head coach Travis Queck holding out six senior starters, extracted a 13-0 victory.
Logan White had three hits, Jordan Knox had two and scored three times, while freshman Grant Johnson went 2 for 4 for the Hornets.
Brandon Thomisee, Colby Morrow and Blaine Sears combined on a three-hit shutout, striking out 14 all together. Everyone in the Bryant batting order had at least one hit except for catcher Gavin Burton who was on base three times, twice because he was hit by pitches.
Shortstop Hunter Belton had two of the Gryphons’ hits.
The victory improved the Hornets to 20-2 overall this season, 11-1 in conference play. They’ll break from the league on Thursday to host Sheridan then entertain second-place Cabot on Friday.
Southwest lefty Braylon Martin surrendered all 13 runs but only three of them were earned as his teammates committed six errors in the game.
Bryant got a run in the first when Knox was plunked by a 3-2 pitch from Martin, raced to third on a single to left from White then scored on a wild pitch. Burton and Lawson Speer were both drilled by pitches with two down, but Martin got out of the bases-loaded jam when Kyler Pabon hit a grounder to second baseman Jamal Ivey. He and Speer collided, and Southwest was awarded the out on interference to end the inning.
Belton singled to start the bottom of the first but then Thomisee struck out the side.
Bryant’s second began with a pop into shallow center off Johnson’s bat. Centerfielder Damarcus Coleman charged in and got to the ball but dropped it. An out later, Knox drilled a triple down the left-field line to make it 2-0.
Knox scored on a wild pitch and, with two down, Turner Seelinger and Conner Martin delivered back-to-back doubles. After Burton was hit by a pitch again, Speer lashed a single to right. Martin scored and, when the throw from the outfield got away, Speer hustled into second, setting the table for Pabon, who lashed a single to right, plating two.
It was 7-0 going into the bottom of the second. Thomisee walked Ivey but then fanned the next two. Braylon Martin grounded out to Pabon at second.
Martin pitched around a one-out error in the top of the third then Morrow fanned the side around a hit batsman.
In the fourth, Burton drew a walk and Sears, in as a courtesy runner, stole second. He took third when Pabon hit a roller to first then scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-0.
Morrow fanned the side in the fourth and, in the fifth, the Hornets tacked on one more. With two down, White beat out an infield hit. When Seelinger’s grounder ricocheted off Belton’s foot when he tried to backhand it, the ball rolled into the outfield. White scored all the way from first and Seelinger wound up at second.
But he was stranded as Braylon Martin got Conner Martin to fly to deep center.
Sears eased through a 1-2-3 home fifth then the Hornets made it a run-rule lead with a four-run sixth. The uprising began with a two-out error as Pabon reached base. He swiped second and scored on Johnson’s lined single to right. Ethan Andrews doubled then he and Johnson scored on a two-bagger by Knox to make it 12-0.
Harris relieved for the Gryphons and was greeted by White’s third hit, which drove in Knox with the 13th run.
Benton doubled and with one out, Gary Godley singled for Southwest in the bottom of the inning. Jayden Jackson bounced one back to Sears, who threw to first for the second out of the inning. Belton tried to score from third on the play but Seelinger relayed home to Burton in time to complete the game-ending doubleplay.
