Wood cousins spark AAA Sox
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting 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
PINE BLUFF — Last summer for the Bryant Blacksox AA American Legion team, Richie Wood got into double figures in home runs. He was particularly hot when the weather got that way.
So, it was no doubt frustrating to him that during the Bryant Hornets’ run to the State championship game this spring, there were no home runs even though he was among the team leaders in hitting all season.
And, to start the Legion season, Wood again is hitting above a .400 clip but nearly a month into the season, had no home runs.
But then, the weather is only just beginning to really heat up.
On Thursday, June 10, at Taylor Field in Pine Bluff, Blacksox manager Craig Harrison was thinking about having Wood try a safety squeeze bunt in the fifth inning. His team led 3-0 but was struggling to bust the game open with Pine Bluff Simmons First Bank. They’d managed only one run the inning before when they’d loaded the bases with no one out.
Richie’s cousin Travis, the team’s ace lefty, was locking down the Bankers despite not having his best stuff and the the fact that the umpire’s strike zone didn’t go below mid-thigh and didn’t seem to have an outside corner.
But, with runners at second and third in the fifth, Harrison, urged by his assistant, brother Tic, and realizing that Pine Bluff reliever Daniel Gathright was only throwing strikes with his fastball, let Richie Wood hit away.
The ball appeared to still be rising as it sailed over the 20 foot wall just beyond the 360-foot mark.
Wood’s three-run bomb broke open the game and spurred the Blacksox to a 9-0 run-rule win in six innings over Pine Bluff, 11-4. The Sox improved to 16-0 overall this season, 4-0 in Zone IV play.
Travis Wood, making just his second start of the season, improved to 2-0 with the three-hit shutout. He walked just two despite the limits of the strike zone and struck out 11.
Pine Bluff threatened just twice. In the second, the Bankers managed two of their hits, an infield hit by Justin Moring and a single to right by Nick Makris. A wild pitch put runners at second and third but Moring was out trying to score on Zack Hale’s bouncer back to the mound then Wood struck out the next two to end the inning.
In the fifth, Hale doubled and Scott Donaldson walked but then Wood struck out the side to strand them.
Hale, the Pine Bluff starter who also started for Watson Chapel against Bryant in the high school State Tournament quarterfinals in May, struck out the side in the first but couldn’t last through four frames.
In the second, singles by Travis Wood and Peeler set up a scoring opportunity. With one out, Zack Young walked to load the bases, then Wood scampered home on Dustin Tinkler’s groundout.
In the second, Todd Bryan singled to right, swiped second, took third on a wild pitch and scored when Justin Wells was robbed of a hit by Pine Bluff second baseman Logan Kizer.
In the fourth, walks to Richie Wood and Young started the inning. Tinkler was hit by a pitch to load the bags then Hale walked Dustin Easterly to force in a run.
Gathright relieved and got out of the inning, aided by a doubleplay.
The tell-tale fifth opened with a screaming double to right-center by Wells and a walk to Travis Wood. Peeler sacrificed them to second and third before Richie Wood unloaded.
The Sox tacked on three more in the sixth to make it a run-rule game. Easterly cranked a triple to open the inning. He scored on a single by Jeff Carpenter who extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Base hits by Wells and Travis Wood followed to make it 8-0 then Wells scored on a sacrifice fly by Peeler to complete the damage.
