AAA Sox bounce back past Benton
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 continueposting 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).
By ROB PATRICK
BRYANT TIMES
Every year, it seems, the Bryant Black Sox AAA American Legion team has a letdown after their trip to the St. Louis area for the Alton, Ill., Tournament of Champions. It’s an eagerly anticipated trip and wearying because of the travel and the number of games played in a short span of time.
Usually, Sox coaches Craig and Tic Harrison give their guys some time off afterwards but, invariably, it takes a while for them to gear up again as District Tournament play looms.
This year, the team’s stellar pitching stayed in its groove but the bats went quiet when the Sox returned to action at a jamboree over the weekend at UALR’s Curran-Conway Field. They eked out a 2-1 win over Fayetteville, but lost 2-1 to Evansville, Ind., the next day, just the third loss the team had suffered all season but, the second in its last three games counting the semifinal loss to Festus, Mo., on Independence Day at Alton.
Wanting to get the team’s attention back in line, the Harrisons considered wind sprints after the Evansville game but decided to give the team one more game to show they could get it done themselves.
And they did.
Of course, there’s nothing like a game against a team from Benton to stir intensity and focus in a team from Bryant.
The Sox were much more aggressive at the plate, pounding out 14 singles in just four innings on the way to a 12-2 win in five over Benton McClendon’s on Monday, July 10. The win improved Bryant to 28-3 on the season and completed a sweep of their 12 games in their league. The Sox, who will have a first-round bye, will host the Zone 4 Tournament beginning July 20. In the interim, they were set to finish the regular season at Searcy on Wednesday, July 12, and at home against Jacksonville on Friday, July 14.
Though a little shaky in his first start against a Benton team since Babe Ruth days, Drew Short benefitted from the offensive eruption, picking up his fifth win in as many decisions this season. He scattered seven hits, allowing only two second-inning runs.
Ryan Wilson drove in four runs to spark the Sox offense. He, Danny Riemenschneider, Cory Lambert and Travis Queck each had two hits.
The Black Sox aggressive approach was evident early on. Joey Winiecki bunted the first pitch of the bottom of the first for a base hit. Riemenschneider bunted the second pitch from Benton starter Bill Massino for a sacrifice. Justin Wells cracked Massino’s third pitch for an RBI single to left.
Aaron Davidson took a couple of pitches before his single then Devin Hurt worked the count full before his RBI hit to left. After Lambert walked to load the bases, Queck beat out an infield hit for an RBI and Wilson drew a walk to force in a run, making it 4-0.
Benton used an infield hit, a hit batsman and a solid single to center by Seth Hobbs to load the bases in the second. A run scored as the Sox neatly turned a 5-4-3 doubleplay. Another came in when Tyler Keene beat out an infield hit, making it 4-2, before Short got James Bennett to bounce to Hurt at second for a force to end the inning.
In the top of the third, Benton loaded them up again on a pair of infield hits and a walk. But Short got Matt Samples to tap to Riemenschneider at third who threw home for a force then struck out Hobbs to keep it 4-2.
In the bottom of the inning, Lambert sliced a single to left, Queck walked and, after both moved up on a wild pitch, Wilson chased them home with a single to center. With one down, Winiecki reached on a throwing error that allowed Wilson to score. Riemenschneider singled Winiecki to third and he scored from there when Wells bounced into a force.
Short settled in to retire eight of the last nine batters he faced. Meanwhile, the Sox added four more in the fourth. Lambert and Queck singled to set the table. Wilson drove in a run with his second hit and when the return throw to the infield was mishandled, Queck dashed home as well and Wilson wound up at third. David Guarno got in on the fun with an RBI single to left before Riemenschneider capped things off with a run-scoring single to set the final score.
