Rose’s shutout helps Sox earn split
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).
Despite not having his best stuff, left-hander Anthony Rose pitched a five-hit shutout as the Bryant Black Sox AAA American Legion team ran their winning streak to eight straight with a 2-0 win over Arkansas Trailer of Little Rock in the first game of a doubleheader at Ashley Park Wednesday, July 12.
In the second game, however, the streak was halted. Arkansas Trailer prevailed 8-4.
Rose issued seven walks and the Sox made a pair of errors but they forced Arkansas Trailer to strand 10 while Bryant turned a trio of doubleplays. In addition, Rose picked off two baserunners.
Actually, Trailer pitcher Scott Gallagher deserved a batter fate. Bryant scored both of its runs in the bottom of the first then Gallagher retired 16 in a row to close out the game.
The Black Sox’ first twin-killing got Rose out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. An error and a pair of walks loaded the bases before the 6-4-3 double dip.
In the bottom of the inning, Dustin Morris cracked a one-out double and Michael McClellan singled. Morris scored when Rose’s grounder to short was botched. Beau Hamblin then singled home McClellan.
A walk to Cody Graddy loaded the bases before a doubleplay ended the inning and began Gallagher’s perfection. Bryant couldn’t manage another baserunner the rest of the game.
Arkansas Trailer, meanwhile, was unable to take advantage of a pair of walks in the second. In the third, a lead-off single by Jessie Klein was erased when Rose picked him off first. A third-strike wild pitch and a walk with two outs allowed a pair of batters to get on base but Rose got Bill Pendergist to fly to center to end the threat.
Luke Davis singled to start the fourth but was doubled off when Graddy, playing in left, raced in to snag a liner and threw to second to catch Davis before he could get back to the bag.
In the fifth, Aaron Clark doubled, Klein reached on an error and Jay Sawatski walked to start the inning but Rose struck out Zac Davis and got Brandon Kitchens to pop to Morris, the Bryant second baseman, in short right field. Clark tried to tag and score but Morris threw him out to end the inning.
The sixth was Rose’s lone 1-2-3 inning. In the seventh, he issued a lead-off walk to Reggie Murray then a single to Clark. But he picked Murray off second and, despite a two-out single by Sawatski, escaped unscathed to complete the shutout.
In the second game, Arkansas Trailer led all the way.
A walk and an error got Bryant starter Brad Chism into trouble at the very start of the game. Clark, who had walked, scored on a groundout by Josh Sullivan. Kitchens doubled in another run.
The Sox made it 2-1 in the bottom of the second. Hamblin singled and Tad Beene drew a two-out walk to set the table for Matt Lewis, who singled in the run.
A two-run double by Clark in the fourth made it 4-1 but again the Sox kept it close. Graddy and Beene singled, with one down. Sean Sebourn drew a two-out walk and White drilled a single to drive in two.
Sullivan belted a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 6-3. Chism retired the next batter but then issued a walk and gave way to Chris Sory.
In the sixth, Sory issued a walk and hit a batter. After Watkins sacrificed the runners to second and third, Scott Yant came in to relieve for the Sox. He was greeted by Sawatski’s two-run double to make it 8-3.
In the bottom of the inning, the Sox loaded the bases with two down. White singled, Morris reached on an error and McClellan walked. But Davis fanned Rose to get off the hook.
Yant pitched out of a two-on, no-out pickle in the top of the seventh then the Sox made one more stab at a comeback. With one out, Davis walked Graddy, Zack Dickson and Lewis to load the bases. Sebourn delivered in the clutch with single to right to plate one but Davis fanned White and got Morris to ground into a force at second to end it.
