Davidson, AAA Sox blast LR Blue
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 — While leading the Harding University Bison with eight saves this spring, Aaron Davidson got very few cuts at the plate. In fact, just 18 official at bats.
“I think I played (in the field) in six games maybe,” he recalled on Tuesday, April 5, after he capped off a three-hit night with a two-run homer in the Bryant Black Sox’ 12-0 win over Little Rock Post 1 Blue at Curran-Conway Field.
Needless to say, Davidson has knocked off any rust that may have accumulated.
“It’s like riding a bike,” he said. “You never forget. I felt pretty good up there.”
The game was Bryant’s first in Zone 4 action this season. The Sox improved to 4-2 overall as they bounced back after being shut out two days before by Fayetteville.
“It looked like the team of old there,” stated manager Craig Harrison. “There’s a lot to say about what focus can do. We had a good practice (Monday). We focused on making some adjustments at the plate and it showed tonight. We had some good at-bats. We struck out a lot early but our focus is to try to work their starters deep into counts and get them out of the game. Once we get into people’s bullpens, we figure we can make hay with them. Because we think we have a good bullpen and, if we can get in theirs, we can do some damage.”
Indeed, the Sox built an early 3-0 lead which right-hander Tyler Sawyer made hold up. Blue lefty Dustin Ward settled down and kept it 3-0 until running out of gas in the top of the fifth when he issued one-out walks to Ryan Wilson, Devin Hurt and Jordan Knight. Tyler Brown relieved and, on his second pitch, Trent Daniel drilled a single up the middle that got past the outfielder and cleared the bases, breaking the game open.
The Sox added six more in the top of the seventh including the final two on Davidson’s blast to left-center.
“I guarantee, we’re going to be a good team after this,” Davidson declared. “We were all focused, we played together. There was no back-talking each other in the dugout. We’re all getting along. We’ve got that team chemistry coming together.”
Sawyer ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth when Blue loaded the bases with one out on a double by Cody Hill, a single by Taylor Brown and a walk to Tyler Brown. But, after a visit from Harrison, he buckled down and struck out clean-up hitter Tim Watson and got the final out on a force at second.
Sawyer walked the first batter of the sixth and gave way to Tanner Zuber. A pair of singles loaded the bases with one out, but Zuber also worked out of it, fanning Hill then getting an assist from Wilson at third, who made a nice play on a shot by Taylor Brown to get a force at third, ending the threat.
“I thought Tyler Sawyer threw the ball really good,” Harrison stated. “We worked mostly fastballs the first time through the order, came back and mixed it up then, late, after we got the big lead, just laid it in there thinking if they can hit their way back into the game then so be it. I thought Tanner threw good. We were really just throwing a lot of fastballs. Both of them got out of jams. I thought Sawyer really did a good job of re-focusing there.”
Bryant’s early success was sparked by lead-off man Joey Winiecki, who returned to the lineup Sunday after being out with back problems. Winiecki also had three hits, scored three runs and drove in a pair.
He opened the game with a single up the middle. Tyler Pickett walked then, what appeared to be a hit-and-run but turned out to be a straight steal attempt by Winiecki, Davidson laced a base hit through the right side of the infield to drive in the first run.
“When Joey gets on, it does a lot for us,” Harrison commented. “We did a good job of being patient at the plate with him on base and when he gets on second, he’s on his own. It really wasn’t a hit and run, it was just him running and then we hit the ball. But when he gets on it puts a lot of pressure on the defense.”
Pickett, who took third on Davidson’s hit, scored on Wilson’s grounder to second to make it 2-0.
In the second, Winiecki was hit by a pitch (though Blue manager Mike Johnson argued that the ball hit the bat instead of Winiecki, which appeared to be the initial call of the umpires). The Bryant speedster was on the run again when Pickett ripped a liner down the line in left for a double. Winiecki scored all the way from first to make it 3-0.
In five innings, Sawyer struck out seven and allowed four hits. He pitched around a single in the first, an error and a hit in the second and a walk in the third.
In Bryant’s seventh, Hurt walked and Knight was hit by a pitch. Daniel grounded into a force at third but Alex Kehrees slashed a single to right to load the bases for Kaleb Jobe who came through with a drive that burned the left fielder for a two-run double. A two-run single by Winiecki plated Kehrees and Jobe and set the table for Davidson.
Zuber worked a 1-2-3 home seventh capped by a nice play from Hurt at short on a hard grounder up the middle to end the game.
