Junior Sox advance to winners bracket final at State
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting 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).
SHERIDAN — Lefty Beaux Bonvillain allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out nine as the Bryant Everett Buick GMC Black Sox knocked off Blytheville, 6-2, in the second round of the Junior American Legion State Tournament on Saturday.
Bryant is trying to repeat as State champs. The Sox will play the winner of Saturday’s late game between Texarkana and Paragould in the winners bracket final on Sunday evening. Texarkana and Bryant split the two games they played against each other in the Zone 4 tournament earlier in the week.
Sizzling-hot Cameron Coleman blasted another home run, this time clearing the high wall in dead center at Sheridan’s Oliver Williams Field. He’s not hit four round-trippers in the last seven games, one in each of the State tourney games.
His two-run blast in the third inning doubled Bryant’s 2-0 lead. It came moments after Austin Kelly had singled with one out. Ethan Thompson came on as a courtesy runner for Kelly, the Sox catcher, but didn’t have to do much running as he trotted around the bases ahead of Coleman.
Blytheville, which had defeated Central Arkansas Christian in a first-round game on Friday, scored its two runs in the fourth after Bonvillain and the Bryant defense had set down nine of the first 10 Blytheville batters.
To lead off the fourth, an errant throw allowed a runner to reach second. A single, the lone Blytheville hit, drove in the run. A walk followed then a grounder to third moved the runners up a base. The second run scored on a sacrifice fly. But when the trail runner tried to tag and advance, the Sox nailed him at third with a solid relay.
After that, Blytheville could only must a walk in the fifth and another free pass with two down in the seventh.
The Sox grabbed the initial 2-0 lead in the second when Aaron Orender reached on a throwing error. Brandon Hoover sacrificed him to third and, with two down, Grayson Prince singled him home. After Prince stole second, Scott Schmidt laced an RBI single.
After Blytheville scored in the top of the fourth, Bryant got those runs back in the home half of the inning. Christian Harp singled and stole second. Prince, trying to bunt him to third, beat out a base hit.
Prince swiped second and, with one out, Jeffrey Hastings delivered a sacrifice fly. An RBI single by Matthew Sandidge made it 6-2.
