By Rob Patrick
One long wait, one long game, one long inning — and at the end of the long day, the Bryant Black Sox and Little Rock Continental Express Junior American Legion teams each had a victory as they split a doubleheader at Bryant High School Field on Sunday afternoon.
The long wait:
The opener was delayed almost an hour when no umpires showed up. Bryant High School coaches Kirk Bock and Mark Jelks finally took over the umpiring chores when it was learned umpires were on the way from Hot Springs. Eventually, however, only one umpire arrived and the coaches finished the games in the field — Bock in the first game and Jelks in the second.
The long game:
The two teams traded leads and between them seven pitchers took the bump before Continental took its turn at leading in the top of the seventh, scoring twice to reverse an 8-7 deficit. Trailing 9-8 in the bottom of the inning, the Sox, for just the second inning in the game, were held scoreless as lefty John Mark Osborn worked around a one-out walk to Chris Joiner to nail down the victory.
The one long inning:
In the second game, the Express snapped a 3-3 tie with two runs in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, Bryant scored 10 times while recording just one out (on a sacrifice bunt, at that) as 14 batters came to the plate. The result was a run-rule win, 13-5, in which Lucas Castleberry went 4-for-4. Tyler Brown had three hits, Dylan Pritchett and Caleb Milam two each. [more]
Bryant, now 5-2, was set to join the Senior Sox in Pine Bluff on Monday for a re-match with the Express on Tuesday back at Bryant.
"We're coming out flat way too much," stated Junior Sox manager Brad Chism. "We've got no emotion and we wait until we're behind or we've got a big lead before we get into the game. We've got to be from the first pitch to the last out. That's where we're hurting. We are having to make sure the team's up and that may be coaching. That may be something I've got to work on with them but I think that's the only spot where we're hurting right now. Our pitching has been fine, defensively we've been pretty good. We've had some mistakes behind us that have cost us but our hitting's coming around, but it's coming with no intensity. We're getting in the game when we're coming from behind because we're having kids that are trying to step up and make something happen. We can't wait like that. We've got to do that early in the game and jump on top of people and stay on top. Other than that, we're going good."
In the opener, the Sox built a 4-0 lead behind the pitching of right-hander Blake Davidson. They scored twice in the first and single runs in the second and third but, in each frame, they left runners in scoring position. A couple of more key hits and it may have been a blowout.
In the first, Castleberry drew a one-out walk, stole second and, with two down, scored on a single to left by Brady Butler. A pitch later, with Butler on the move, Landon Pickett plugged the gap in left-center for a double that brought Butler all the way around for the second run.
But Pickett was stranded when Express starter Hayes Riser struck out Evan Jobe.
Davidson worked around a single and a pair of walks in the top of the second. Justin Williams who would go 3-for-3 with a walk in the game, had the hit but he was picked off first and tagged out after a rundown.
With two on and two out, Pritchett, the Sox catcher, made a nice sliding dive of a foul pop off Ben Gipson's bat to force Continental to strand runners at second and third.
In turn, Brown singled with one out for Bryant. With two down, Joiner cracked a triple to right-center to drive him in. When Castleberry walked and stole second, the Sox had two more in scoring position. But Riser got Pritchett to fly out to right to keep the score 3-0.
Continental went down in order in the top of the third but not without a great catch by Jobe in left of a liner off Ivan Tate's bat. Jobe charged in and, with a headlong dive, speared the ball as it was sinking in.
And the Sox tacked on the fourth run. Butler walked to lead off the inning then swiped second. Pickett came through with his second RBI double, making it 4-0. But, again, the Sox could've had more. A bloop single by Jobe put runners at the corners with nobody out. But, somehow, Riser worked out of the jam, retiring the next three.
Andrew Naeyeart, the Express catcher, led off the fourth with a solid single to the left of Castleberry at third. Williams blooped a single and Chism brought in Jake Clark to relieve Davidson.
Clark retired Adam Hammacker on a tap to first but Taylor Vanbrevelt singled sharply to center to drive in both runs. Vanbrevlet stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Josh Alberius to make it 4-3.
Pritchett helped put the stops on the inning by throwing out Alberius trying to steal second. Ben Gipson walked but Tate flew out to end the inning with Bryant still on top but just 4-3.
After the Sox were unable to take advantage of an error in the bottom of the inning, Continental took the lead. Blake Gipson tripled which brought another change on the mound. Clark gave way to Butler who got Will Parham to pop up to third. A strike away from retiring Naeyeart, Butler surrendered an RBI single to center. Williams followed with a double to put runners at second and third. Butler got the second out on strikes and appeared to be out of the inning when Tyler Gattin made a nice play on a grounder to his right off the bat of Vanbrevlet. But his throw pulled Pickett off the bag. Pickett tried to sweep a tag on Vanbrevlet on the way by but couldn't land it and Naeyeart scored to make it 5-4.
Moments later, Vanbrevlet took off for second a steal attempt and drew a throw that was late as Williams raced home with a steal to make it 6-4. After Vanbrevlet stole second, Butler speared a liner back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox answered with a tying uprising. Caleb Milam drew a one-out walk, took second on a passed ball and, with two down, advanced to third on a single to center by Gattin. When Williams charged, fielded and fired home, he missed the cut-off man. Gattin sprinted to second, drawing a return throw from Naeyeart that was wild. Milam alertly scored on the play as Gattin got up and sprinted to third. He scored from there on an infield hit by Joiner that tied the game.
Ben Gipson led off the sixth with an infield hit. Tate sacrificed him to second and he went to third on Blake Gipson's bouncer to the right side. Moments later, Gipson scored on a passed ball, giving Continental the lead.
Bryant reclaimed the advantage in the bottom of the sixth as Josh Alberius took over for Riser on the mound. With the help of walks to Pritchett, Butler and Pickett, Bryant tied it on a wild pitch. Osborn relieved but Jobe followed with an sacrifice fly to make it 8-7.
A walk to Milam put runners at first and second only to have Brown bounce back to the mound. Osborn whipped a throw to third for a force and the return throw to first was on target for an odd 1-5-3 doubleplay.
The lead, however, didn't last long. In the top of the seventh, Williams walked, Hamaker singled and and Butler gave way to Austin Johnson on the mound. A nice play by Pickett at first saved a run as he retired Vanbrevlet on a sharply hit ball. But Williams scored on a wild pitch and, after having taken third, Hamaker stole home. With the sacrifice on, Alberius couldn't get a bunt down. The pitch was in the dirt and, having left third early, Hamaker scored with ease to give his team the ultimate lead.
In the second game, Osborn started against Matt Neal. The game was scoreless into the bottom of the third when the Sox eked out a run. Joiner hit a drive to deep center which was misplayed allowing him to race all the way to third for Castleberry who cracked his second hit for an RBI single.
Neal, to that point, had allowed just one single to Naeyeart. He'd fanned five. In the fourth, however, Blake Gipson laced a triple to the fence in right center. He scored when Hamaker's bouncer to short was misplayed. Vanbrevlet, Naeyeart and Thomas Fiedorek followed with consecutive singles that produced a 3-1 lead.
Alberius bounced to Brown at second who tossed to Castleberry for a force at second. And when Naeyeart tried to score on the play, Castleberry's return throw was good enough for Pickett to secure the ball and himself in time for Naeyeart to barrel into him. Pickett got the best of it and he held on to get the out. Naeyeart was ejected from the game for not sliding and, moments later, Riser struck out to end the threat.
The Sox tied it in the bottom of the inning. Brown singled, Jobe walked and Brodie Nixon bunted them over. Joiner, after fouling off a trio of 3-2 pitches, cracked a double into left-center to tie it.
Castleberry singled and Pritchett was hit by a pitch to load the bases but Osborn struck out Butler and got Pickett to pop to right to end the inning.
Those stranded runners were looking mighty big when Continental regained the advantage in the top of the fifth. Ben Gipson singled, was sacrificed to second by Tate, reached third on Blake Gibson's bounce out then, after Hamaker walked, scored on a single into right by Pritchett.
Chism brought in Butler to get out of the inning but a passed ball allowed Hamaker to score before he could, making it 5-3. Butler then ended the frame with a strikeout.
Milam shot a double inside the third-base bag to start Bryant's decisive home fifth. Brown followed with a fly to left that was dropped. Milam took third on the play and scored on a wild pitch, the first of several during the inning. Not only was Naeyeart's defense missed, but the Express appeared to be running out of pitching.
Brown took third on a wild pitch as Jobe was drawing a walk. Another wild pitch allowed Brown to score to tie the game at 5.
Nixon was hit by a pitch then Joiner sacrificed the runners to second and third. Castleberry's fourth hit followed knocking in Jobe. Nixon followed when Pritchett's grounder to short drew a wild throw. Castleberry had taken third on the play and he scored on another wild delivery, setting the lead at 8-5.
Walks to Butler and Pickett brought a change of hurlers. Blake Gipson took over and unleased his own wild pitch before Milam singled.
Pritchett, Butler, Pickett and Milam would eventuall score from wild piches. Brown singled to keep things going then Jobe was issued a free pass. With runners at first and third, Gipson got Nixon to bounce into the hole at short. Alberius fielded the ball but his throw to third was not in time, setting up Joiner with the bags juiced. His single to left ended the game.
