Bryant AAA unloads on Wolves
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By ROB PATRICK
BRYANT TIMES
PEARCY — Though their defensive struggles of late continued, the Bryant Bowen-Hefley Black Sox AAA American Legion team had too much offense for it to have much affect Friday when they clubbed the Lake Hamilton Wolves 20-5 in five innings.
The Sox hammered 17 hits, led by Kris Kuykendall’s 3-for-4 effort. Every Bryant starter hit safely and seven of them had at least two hits. Travis Lawhon, Brandon Fitts and Logan Critz each drove in three.
And the Bryant pitching staff got a lift from Charlie Beck and Mark Medlin. Used only sparingly this season, the duo gave the rest of the staff the night off. The Sox were playing their fourth game in as many days to start a stretch of seven games in eight days prior to their trip to Mountain Home for the annual Twin Lakes/Lockeroom Invita-tional Tournament.
After committing five errors in a loss to Conway on Thursday, the Sox committed four more on Friday. But the Sox scored nine times in the top of the third and added six more in the fourth to overcome those mistakes.
Fitts had doubled and scored on a single by Critz to get Bryant on the board in the first. In the bottom of the inning, Lake Hamilton managed a pair of runs after two were out. A misjudged fly to center resulted in a triple for Mike Miller. Consecutive singles by Shawn Kellums, Lee Osment and John Meyers made it 2-1.
A two-out RBI double by Billy Landers tied it in the top of the second only to have Lake Hamilton regain the edge in the bottom of the inning with a double by Brian Davidson and a single by Matt Reiss that was misplayed in the outfield.
Critz walked to start Bryant’s third-inning outburst. He took second on a passed ball and scored on Kuykendall’s first hit, a single to right. Kuykendall stole second then took third on a groundout to the right side by Anthony Rose. He scored on Lawhon’s base hit. Joey Brown walked and Zack Martin singled in Lawhon. A walk to Landers loaded the bases and forced a change in pitchers.
Reiss relieved for Lake Hamilton but little changed. Fitts walked to force in a run then J.J. Yant singled in a pair. Critz followed with a triple to make it 10-3. He scored on Kuykendall’s second hit of the inning.
Beck worked around a pair of Bryant errors in the bottom of the inning then the Sox’ offense cranked it up again.
Brown was hit by a pitch and Martin slapped his second single. Landers doubled in a run and Fitts singled in two.
A third Lake Hamilton pitch, Meyers, surrendered four walks before the inning was over and Bryant held a 17-3 lead.
The onslaught concluded in the top of the fifth. Yant doubled, Critz walked and Kuykendall beat out an infield hit, a shot off the pitcher’s glove. Allen Young was hit by a pitch to force in a run, Lawhon delivered another with a sacrifice fly then Brown beat out an infield single to plate run No. 20.
Medlin relieved Beck in the bottom of the inning and gave up a double and four walks which resulted in a couple of runs, but he left the bases loaded when he got clean-up hitter Kellums to pop out to end the game.
The much-needed victory improved the Sox’ record to 9-7 going into Sunday’s contest at Pine Bluff Simmons Bank.
