Short, Wells outduel Red’s Kissinger for league title
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
LITTLE ROCK — The first time that Drew Short and Bradley Kissinger locked up in a Zone 4 AAA American Legion contest, the game went nine innings before Bryant’s Black Sox eked out a 2-1 win.
The duo took up where they left off when the two teams met again at UALR’s Hogan Field on Tuesday, June 27. Against Short, Kissinger’s Red teammates managed a bloop single in the first and an infield hit behind third in the third. Short walked two and, after the second one (which followed the third inning hit) he retired the last 11 batters he faced.
Against Kissinger, Short’s Black Sox teammates didn’t get a hit until Cory Lambert sliced a double to left that Red’s outfielder Corey Woods nearly chased down. In the sixth, Danny Riemenschneider’s chopper to third went for scratch hit and that was it.
But the Sox again got the best of it when they manufactured the game’s only run in the second inning. Short, with ninth inning help from closer Justin Wells, improved to 3-0. It was Wells fifth save and improved Bryant to 21-1 on the season.
Beyond that, the win nailed down down the Zone 4 regular-season championship and a bye in the first round of the District Tournament for the defending State champs. Bryant hosts the District July 20-24.
The only run of the game was scored by Aaron Davidson who, after Kissinger had struck out the side in the first, was hit by a pitch to lead off the second.. With one out, Lambert walked.
Hustle on the bases then produced the run. Queck hit a grounder to second baseman Blake Frazier who, with Lambert bearing down on him, stepped on second for a force. He whipped a throw towards first in hopes of turning an inning-ending doubleplay but Queck beat the throw which sailed out of the reach of first baseman David Brady. Davidson took advantage, sprinting around third and on into third as the Red players tracked down the ball.
Bryant’s only other threat came in the fifth when Lambert doubled and, with one out, Casey Grisham drew a walk. But Kissinger struck out Ryan Wilson and got Joey Winiecki to bounce back to the mound.
That at-bat turned out to be Winiecki’s last opportunity to extend his 20-game hitting streak. He wound up 0 for 3.
Red threatened inn each of the first three innings. In the first, Frazier drew a one-out walk and Clay Washington blooped a single to right-center. But, with the runners on the move, Brandon White flew to left. Queck charged in to make the catch and threw to second to double up Frazier.
In the second, Brady reached base on catcher’s interference. Brian Clark sacrificed him to second and he took third on a wild pitch. But Short struck out Cody Borin and Matt Mazzoni to keep him there.
Short recorded his third straight strikeout to start the third but a single and a walk followed. With the middle of the order coming up, Short fanned Washington and got White to ground to Wells at short to end the inning and begin his stretch of 11 straight set down.
Wells, Bryant’s late-inning hammer, relieved in the seventh and extended that streak to 14, retiring Red in order to end it.
