SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — Colby Morrow pitched five innings of shutout ball, walking one and striking out six while allowed just three hits as the Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion team earned a pool play victory, 8-1, over the Arkansas Chaos of Paragould, in the 16U Division of the Mid-Summer Showcase in the Memphis area.
Connor Martin had two hits and Luke Dreher drove in two for the Sox who are 1-2 in pool play going into a 1 p.m. game on Sunday against STL Gamers Gray.
Braxton Prather relieved Morrow in the sixth and surrendered a run but closed out the victory.
Earlier in the day, the Hornets fell behind quickly in an 11-4 loss to Easley Baseball 16U, giving up six first inning runs. They turned that around against the Chaos, pushing five runs home in the bottom of the first themselves.
Morrow pitched around a two-out single in the top of the first then a walk to Lawson Speer started the home half. Connor Martin singled, and J.T. Parker walked to load the bases. With one out, Dreher delivered a two-run double. Morrow helped himself with an RBI single to make it 3-0.
After Cade Parker was struck by a pitch to fill the sacks again, a new pitcher endered the game and unleashed a wild pitch, which got Dreher home. Jaxon Ham’s sacrifice fly capped off the outburst.
A lead-off single for the Chaos in the top of the second came to naught. Morrow worked around a two-out hit batsman in the third and a one-out double in the fourth.
The Sox tacked on in the home fourth. With one out, Jordan Knox was plunked on a 2-0 pitch. He raced home when Speer laced a triple to left. Though Speer was caught trying to steal home, Martin ripped a triple then scored on J.T. Parker’s double. Gavin Burton traded places with Parker when he drilled a double to right, making it 8-0.
Morrow surrendered a lead-off walk in the top of the fifth but retired the next three. He finished his outing with consecutive strikeouts.
Prather struggled a bit with his command, issuing a pair of walks around a single to load the bases with one out in the top of the sixth. A passed ball allowed the run to score before Prather fanned the next batter and ended the game with a fly to Speer in center.
