In an unusual doubleheader, the Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion team overwhelmed the Little Rock Junior Vipers, 18-3, at Bryant High School Field on Wednesday night then made the Senior Vipers sweat out a 7-4 victory later in the evening.
The results make the Sox 13-8-1 on the season going into the Junior State Tournament starting on Monday. Bryant will take on North Little Rock at 8 p.m., at home. Most of the tournament will be played in Sheridan.
Black Sox 18, Jr. Vipers 3
Connor Martin, J.T. Parker and Gavin Burton each had two hits as the Sox took advantage of six Vipers errors and a whopping 14 walks. Bryant scored 12 times in the bottom of the first after Little Rock had taken a 1-0 lead.
The game was called in the bottom of the fourth on the 15-after-3 run rule.
Jaxon Ham and Braxton Prather combined to limit the Vipers to five hits. Two of Little Rock’s three runs were earned.
In the top of the first, singles by Brett Wilson and Nikki Masters were followed by an error that loaded the bases for the Vipers. Blake Dickinson grounded into a force at second with Colby Morrow making a nice play at first. Wilson scored but Ham got Luke McKnight to ground out to short.
Bryant’s explosion in the bottom of the inning started with Ryan Riggs reaching on an error and stealing second. A wild pitch got him to third as Martin drew a walk. J.T. Parker followed with a drive to left for a hit that was misplayed. Two runs scored and Parker wound up at third. Morrow singled him in to make it 3-0.
Luke Dreher was hit by a pitch then Burton singled to right to load the bases. Cade Parker came through with an RBI groundout then Dreher and, moments later, courtesy runner Caleb Greiner scored on wild pitches.
Ham walked and scored from first when Jordan Knox laced a double to right, taking third on an errant relay as Prather, in as a runner for Ham, sprinted home.
After Riggs walked, he and Knox worked a double steal and when Knox crossed the plate safely, it was 8-0. Martin singled in Riggs to spell the end of the mound outing of Vipers starter Will White.
With Dickenson on in relief, J.T. Parker’s grounder to short was kicked. With two down, Morrow walked to fill the bags and Burton delivered two runs with his second single of the inning. Dreher scored when Cade Parker’s grounder to short resulted in a poor throw to first.
Ham struck out a pair around a two-out walk in the second. In turn, the Sox were unable to take advantage of a two-out double by Martin.
Arlin Johnston greeted Prather to the mound with a double to start the top of the third. After Wilson singled, Masters’ sacrifice fly made it 12-2. Dickinson singled and when the ball was fumbled in the outfield, the third and final run scored.
Dickinson singled but Knox robbed McKnight of a hit with a headlong dive in shallow center.
Morrow led off the bottom of the third with a walk. Dreher yanked a double inside the line in left then Burton walked to load the bases.
Masters came on to relieve for the Vipers and, after giving up a sacrifice fly to Cade Parker, Dreher scored on Prather’s grounder to the right side.
In the top of the fourth, Prather set down the Vipers around a two-out walk.
The wheels came off for Little Rock in the bottom of the fourth. Martin walked and J.T. Parker singled. Morrow lined into a doubleplay but Martin took third on a wild pitch and, after Dreher walked, scored on another delivery in the dirt.
Burton walked again, starting a parade of free passes that included Cade Parker, Prather, Knox and, after another pitching change, Riggs as well, forcing in the 18th run.
Sr. Vipers 7, Black Sox 4
Drew Hatman, pitching for the Sox, had one tough inning, a five-run second but, otherwise, frustrated the Vipers with his mix of pitches including a soft, 12-to-6 curve into the sixth inning when he started to run out of gas.
The Sox stunned the Vipers by grabbing a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on the strength of Aaron Morgan’s clutch, two-strike double into the right-field corner with the bases loaded. It cleared the bags.
Riggs had beaten out an infield hit, Martin had walked, and Gage Stark got a perfect bunt down for a hit to fill the sacks.
With one out, Vipers’ pitcher John White and Morgan battled to a 2-2 count when Morgan came through. The Sox had a chance for another run, but Morrow was robbed of extra bases on a drive to right-center that Little Rock’s Karebe Thrower tracked down.
Little Rock’s five-run second started with an infield hit that Jack Cleveland beat out. Garrett Hatfield pulled a single into left then Troy Flowers doubled in the first run.
On a swinging bunt, Justin Melson reached safely when Hatman threw the ball away. Both Hatfield and Flowers scored to tie the game.
With Melson on second, Thrower grounded to the right side to get him to third. K.J. Merriweather beat out an infield hit to get Melson and the Vipers in the lead.
C.J. Price then made it 5-3 with a triple.
Controversy ensued when Ivory Daniels lashed an apparent RBI single to left. But it was discovered that Daniels had used an illegal bat. After a long discussion, Price was sent back to third and Daniels was ruled out.
That allowed Hatman to get out of the inning. He walked Cole Somers but got Cleveland to fly out to Knox in right.
The Sox finished with nine hits and had baserunners on in every inning. Wilson allowed singles to Knox and Riggs in the second but managed to get out of the jam.
In the third, Hatfield singled but was thrown out trying to steal by Riggs.
Morgan was robbed of a hit by Somers at third in the bottom of the third. Dreher singled but was stranded.
Hatman walked Thrower to start the fourth. But, with the hit-and-run on, Merriweather popped to first. Morrow relayed to Hatman covering first for a doubleplay. Price then popped out to J.T. Parker at second to keep it 5-3.
In the home fourth, Knox singled up the middle with one out. Riggs, who was 3 for 3 with a walk in the contest, bounced a single into right. Another walk to Martin loaded the bases with one out. Stark came through with a sacrifice fly that cut the lead to 5-4. Riggs tagged and went to third representing the tying run. But White preserved the slight margin with a strikeout.
In the fifth, Daniels led off with an infield hit and Somers doubled to left.
But Hatman retired the next three on a liner to third and a pair of pops to keep it 5-4 as the pressure mounted on the Vipers.
Bryant threatened to tie it in the bottom of the fifth. Morgan sliced a single to right to start the inning. He moved up to second when Price robbed Dreher of another hit. Morrow reached on an error putting runners at first and third with one out. But White, finishing up a 93-pitch outing in the home fifth, retired the next two to send it to the sixth.
Melson singled, Thrower walked, and Merriweather knocked in a run with a base hit.
After 84 pitches, Hatman gave way to Morrow who walked Price before getting Daniels to pop to Martin at short.
Somers hit a grounder to Dreher at third. He threw home for a force. Little Rock, however, got its seventh run when Cleveland was hit by a pitch, forcing in the run. Hatfield fouled out to Parker at first to end the inning.
The Sox were eyeing a comeback in the bottom of the sixth when walks were issued to Riggs and Martin by Price, the first Vipers’ reliever. Stark followed a pitching change with a foul pop near the Little Rock dugout. Somehow, Daniels ranged over from first to make a sprawling catch. With Daniels on the ground, Riggs tried to tag and reach third. But Daniels got up quickly and threw a strike to Somers at third for a doubleplay.
Thrower ended the inning with a strikeout. He would work around a lead-off walk to Morgan in the seventh.
