Junior Sox bounce back to beat West Texas team
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).
FAYETTEVILLE — The Bryant Black Sox 17U American Legion team bounced back from an opening loss in the Five Tool Tournament in northwest Arkansas with a 4-2 win in their second game of pool play Friday afternoon.
Right-hander Will Hathcote shut out the West Texas ABA-Van Buren over the first five innings as the Sox built a 4-0 lead. West Texas rallied in the top of the sixth. Tyler Bates came on in relief and got out of the jam after two runs scored then squelched a rally in the seventh to earn a save.
West Texas threatened to score in the first inning with a hit batsman and a Bryant error. Catcher Ryan Riggs threw out the lead runner trying to steal third just before another single. A strikeout by Hathcote ended the inning.
In the home half, the Sox struck for two. Lawson Speer reached on an error and Noah Davis beat out a bunt single. And when the ball was thrown away, runners wound up at second and third.
Peyton Dillon blooped a single to center to plate the first run then Riggs bounced into a force at second to get Davis home with the second run.
Hathcote pitched around a hit and a two-out error in the top of the third.
In the top of the fourth a walk, a single and a bunt hit loaded the bases for West Texas. But a grounder to Dillon at first led to a force at the plate then a pop to J.T. Parker at second set up a strikeout to end the inning.
Bryant tacked on in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Dakota Clay walked, Gavin Burton was hit by a pitch and, with two down, Blaine Sears ripped a double to chase both home.
In the fifth, a one-out error and a two-out single created a scoring opportunity. But Hathcote got the final out with a grounder to Parker at second.
West Texas’ sixth began with a single. The next batter flew out to Speer for the first out but a single to right and a walk loaded the bases.
A grounder to Parker at second resulted in a force as a run scored. A single brought home the second run and Bates came on in relief. A double steal put the potential tying runs in scoring position. But Bates got the next batter to ground to third to protect the lead.
In the top of the seventh, Bates pitched around a two-out hit batsman to close out the victory.
The Black Sox finish up pool play on Saturday at 12:15 p.m., against Rawlings Arkansas Prospects-Allen at Shiloh Christian.
