Hornets pound Wolves, slip into first place
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PEARCY — The Bryant Hornets clubbed 14 hits including seven for extra bases as they buried the Lake Hamilton Wolves, 11-1, on Friday, April 11. Coupled with El Dorado’s 6-5 win over Benton, the Hornets thus moved into first place in the South Conference with a 5-1 record. (Benton and El Dorado are a half game back, each at 4-1). Bryant hosts El Dorado in a league showdown on Tuesday, April 15.
Trevor Ezell, Drew Tipton and Trey Breeding each had three hits. Chase Tucker added two including a home run.
Blaine Knight was the beneficiary of the offensive landslide. In six innings, he allowed just four hits and one unearned run. He fanned five without a walk.
Bryant jumped on Wolves’ starter Chris Eastburn. Ezell doubled on the second pitch of the contest and, a pitch later, Tipton picked up a double on a looping flyball. Ezell, uncertain if the ball would fall in, held up and only made it to third but, moments later, he scored on a wild pitch.
Tucker was hit by a pitch and stole second then Breeding walked to load the bases for Jason Hastings who cracked a two-run double, making it 4-0. Kyle Jessie relieved for Lake Hamilton and escaped without further damage.
The Wolves picked up two-out singles by Drew Dodson and Zach Muldoon in the bottom of the inning but Knight struck out Kyle Hixon on three pitches to send it to the second.
Korey Thompson reached on an error and, an out later, Tipton singled. Tucker beat out a bunt for a hit loading the bases. Though Thompson was thrown out trying to score, Tipton later came home when Tucker was picked off first and stayed in a rundown.
Knight breezed through the home half, working around a hit batsman and the onslaught resumed in the third when Breeding singled, Hastings sacrificed courtesy runner Connor Tatum to second and Justin Emmerling ripped an RBI triple to right. Brandan Warner singled him in and it was 7-0.
Lake Hamilton’s Jacob Crumpler singled to open the bottom of the third. Cade Qualls reached when his sacrifice bunt drew an errant throw. Crumpler wound up at third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dodson.
Ezell raked the first of his two triples to open the fourth inning. He scored on an errant pickoff throw by Eastburn, who had taken over at catcher.
With an 8-1 lead, Knight waded through the Wolves in succession in the bottom of the inning then again in the fifth and sixth. He finished the game retiring 10 in a row.
Bryant made it a run-rule game in the top of the sixth when Ezell belted his second three-bagger, Tipton singled him home and Tucker unloaded for his two-run jack.
