Black Sox AAA outslugs Sylvan Hills
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).
SHERWOOD — For the first time since early June, the Bryant Bowen-Hefley Black Sox AAA American Legion team climbed four games over .500 with a 17-10 win in nine innings over the Sylvan Hills Bruins at McReynolds Sports Complex Wednesday, July 14.
Bryant hammered out 18 hits including three each from Dustin Morris, Logan Critz and Anthony Rose to outlast Sylvan Hills.
Chris Sory, the third Bryant pitcher, picked up his first AAA win of the season with four innings of relief in which he allowed just two runs on three hits, walked two and fanned five.
The high-scoring tone for the game was set in the first inning when Bryant scored five times and Sylvan Hills four.
Bryant’s first began with singles by Billy Landers and Morris. A passed ball allowed them to move up a base then each scored on wild pitches.
With one out, Critz drew a walk, as did Kris Kuykendall. Rose followed with a two-run double to make it 4-0.
Young got Rose to third with a grounder to the right side then Josh Caldwell singled him in.
But Sylvan Hills used four hits, a walk, a hit batter and a key two-out error to cut the lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the inning.
It stayed that way, however, as Caldwell, the Bryant starter, and Sylvan Hills’ Justin Heslip settled in, until Bryant’s fourth. With two down, Heslip issued a walk to J.J. Yant. Critz and Kuykendall followed with singles to increase the advantage to 6-4. Rose walked but the Sox left the bases loaded.
And Sylvan Hills countered with a tying rally in the bottom of the inning. Another hit batter, another error and a single by Blake Horsman spelled the end of Caldwell’s moundwork. Joey Brown relieved and retired the side but not before another run scored on a force out.
The Bruins then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out, two-run homer by Ryan Williams.
Back came Bryant to tie in the top of the sixth. Yant walked, Critz singled then the Bruins botched Kuykendall’s sacrifice attempt. The side throw allowed Yant to score as Critz took third. An out later, Brandon Fitts brought in the run with a groundout to short.
Sory handcuffed the Bruins in the bottom of the inning, setting up Bryant’s lead-grabbing uprising in the top of the seventh. One-out singles by Landers and Morris set the table. Yant busted the tie with a double to right center then Critz brought Morris home with a bouncer to second.
Sory worked around a two-out hit and a hit batsman in the bottom of the inning and the Sox continued to pour it on in the eighth which opened with singles by Rose and Fitts. Sory walked to load the bases then two runs scored when Zack Martin’s tap to third drew a wild throw.
Sory came home on a bouncer to short by Landers then Morris singled to get things revved up again. Critz chased him home with a triple to make it 15-8.
An error and a two-out double produced Sylvan Hills’ first run against Sory in the bottom of the eighth. A third-strike wild pitch then a walk allowed the Bruins to load the bases with two down, but Sory got Williams to ground out to second to end the threat.
The Black Sox answered with two more in the top of the ninth, starting with a solo homer by Rose. Fitts followed with a double. Sory singled then was forced at second on a grounder by Martin that allowed Fitts to score.
Chris Dickens led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer to make it 15-10 but Sory struck out Horsman then retired the next two on popups to finish off the victory.
It was the fifth win in a row for Bryant (including a forfeit over McGehee), the team’s longest winning streak since a similar run in late May and early June. They took a 19-15 mark into a crucial District game at home against Pine Bluff on Friday, June 16.
