Light failure helps AAA attain sweep
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).
CROSSETT — Left-hander Brad Chism combined with right-hander Chance King to toss a three-hitter as the Bryant Black Sox AAA American Legion team handily won the first game of a doubleheader, 9-1, Sunday against the Crossett Giants. The second game was something different. Matt Lewis shut out the Giants for four innings then the Sox led 11-3 going into the bottom of the sixth when Crossett rallied for seven runs only to have the game called due to the fact that a bank of lights would not come on before the seventh began and Bryant held on for the sweep, 11-10.
The victories improved Bryant to 24-5 on the season going into Monday’s game at Arkansas Trailer.
When the Sox scheduled the twinbill with Crossett, it was believed that the two teams would be in the same league — Zone 4 at the AAA level. But the Crossett team was expecting to have players from Monticello and El Dorado which would have put them over the AA limit for their drawing pool. Those players didn’t pan out and the decision was made to remain at the AA level.
The Sox, after losing games to forfeit on the previous Thursday and Saturday, made the long trip nonetheless.
In the first game, Crossett managed a single to start the bottom of the first then didn’t get another off Chism until two were down in the bottom of the sixth.
By then, the Black Sox had built a 7-0 lead.
Matt Brown, who had three hits in the game, tripled home the game’s first run in the top of the third. Dustin Morris, who had walked, scored on the play.
In the fourth, Lewis singled and Beau Hamblin walked. Hamblin was picked off first but Lewis stole third and scored when Morris slapped a single. After a walk to Matt White, Brown singled to make it 3-0.
Chism, meanwhile, struck out the side in the second and again in the third (around a two-out walk). He issued a one-out walk in the fourth but after a stolen base, the baserunner was picked off by the Bryant hurler. He fanned the next batter to end the inning.
In the fifth, the Sox took command. Jordan Davis reached second on a throwing error to open the frame then scored on a double by Cody Graddy. Lewis traded places with Graddy as he launched a two-bagger to center. He advanced to third when Hamblin reached on a an error, then scored on Scott Yant’s single.
Yant, Lewis, Graddy and Morris each had two hits in the game.
After Chism worked a 1-2-3 home fifth, the Sox added another run in the top of the sixth. Davis doubled with one down, advanced to third on a grounder by Graddy then scored on a passed ball.
Chism started the bottom of the sixth with a strikeout and ended it with another. In between, he issued a two-out walk and an infield hit that failed to amount to anything for Crossett.
Yant opened the seventh with a single the Morris launched his first home run of the season to make it 9-0.
A single, a stolen base that drew a bad throw to second, then a groundout to first produced Crossett’s lone run in the bottom of the seventh. But King struck out two around the RBI bouncer to end the game.
In the second game, the Sox took advantage of nine walks and three errors to build the 11-3 lead. They didn’t actually have a hit until one out in the fifth yet they led 3-0 through four innings.
They’d scored once in the third when Chris Sory and Morris drew one-out walks. Morris was forced out at second on a grounder to short by Brown, but Brown stole second and when Hamblin’s shot to short got through for an error, both runs scored.
In the fourth, one-out walks to Graddy and Lewis set the table. Graddy stole third and drew a wild throw which allowed him to come on home with the third run.
Meanwhile, Lewis pitched around a lead-off single in the first and a one-out double in the second. A runner reached on a third-strike wild pitch in the third then Lewis hit a batter but he picked off the latter runner then got the third out on a grounder to Morris at second.
The Giants went down in order in the fourth.
Bryant’s fifth began with an error that allowed Morris to reach then Brown grounded into a force. A passed ball allowed Brown to reach second then Hamblin doubled him home. Hamblin stole third and scored on a wild pitch. White walked, swiped second and, when the second baseman couldn’t hold the throw from the catcher, raced on to third. He too scored on a wild pitch, making it 6-0.
Crossett cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth only to have the Sox put together a five-run sixth that appeared to put the game out of reach. Little did they know they’d need all five to win.
Lewis opened the inning with a home run to left-center. Cody Dreher walked but was thrown out trying to steal. Sory drew a free pass then Morris cracked a double to put runners at second and third for Brown who came through with a two-run single.
After Brown took third on a wild pitch and Hamblin walked, White picked up an RBI by grounding into a force out. Michael McClellan smacked a double to chase White home with what proved to be the decisive run.
