Bryant AA rolls, 16-2
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
By the time the Bryant Black Sox AA American Legion team got around to playing Little Rock Post 1 Red on Wednesday, June 7, it was their 15th game of the season. They had lost just twice including 8-3 to Red in the second game of a doubleheader that opened the 2006 season on May 20.
Things can change in three weeks.
At least that’s what the Sox’ subsequent 16-2 romp might indicate.
Bryant took advantage of eight walks, five errors and two hit batsmen with 11 hits to win in five innings and improve to 13-2 on the season. After having their nine-game winning streak ended by Van Buren at the Harrison Tournament the previous weekend, the Sox had another winning streak going, upping it to three.
Ryan Wilson, Ryan Guffy and Tim Bearden combined to limit Red to five hits. Wilson pitched two scoreless innings as the starter while the Sox built a 9-0 lead.
Tyler Pickett drove in four runs and Justin Gaddy three for Bryant. Ten different Sox players had hits. Pickett, who has now hit safely in all seven AA games in which he’s played, had two.
Jordan Knight extended his hitting streak to six in a row with a single to lead off the home first. Though he was forced at second on a grounder by Wilson, a wild relay to first allowed Wilson to reach second. Pickett singled him home. A walk to Alex Kehrees then a pair of wild pitches brought Pickett home. Kehrees scored on a passed ball to make it 3-0.
In the second, Matt Hargrave was hit by a pitch and Logan Cruse singled. Knight grounded into a force at second then Wilson walked to load the bags. Pickett delivered another run with a sacrifice fly then Knight scored on a wild pitch. After Trent Daniel walked, Gaddy drove in two runs with a base hit. Daniel scored on another passed ball and Jake Jackson capped the winning with an RBI double.
Red scored a run on a pair of base hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly in the top of the third but the Sox scored five more runs in the home half of the frame. Michael Haydon doubled to get the inning started. Along the way, Pickett doubled in a pair, Gaddy picked up another RBI with a sac fly and Hargrave finished off the uprising with a two-run single.
In the fourth, Jeremy Burge walked, Wilson singled and Tim Bearden drove in a run with a base hit. The final run scored when Kehrees reached on an error.
Red tacked on a run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly that actually wound up resulting in a doubleplay. With the bases loaded and no one out, Luke Osborn flew out to left. The runner at third tagged and scored as Preston Adami made the catch in left. The ball was relayed home but Hargrave, the Bryant catcher, came out to take the throw from Wilson, the cut-off man, and fired a strike to third where Guffy tagged out the runner trying to advance from second.
Bearden got the next batter to ground to third to end the game.
