Junior Sox earn third tourney victory in consolation contest
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting 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).
MARIETTA, Ga. — The Bryant Black Sox 15-and-under Junior American Legion team, after coming up a win short of advancing to the championship bracket of the Perfect Game/East Cobb Invitational, wrapped up their trip to Georgia with a 9-6 win in the consolation bracket over the Atlanta Warriors Black team at Kennesaw State University on Thursday.
The Sox took advantage of nine walks, two errors and a hit batsman with six hits. Tied 5-5 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, they put together a four-run outburst that held up for victory behind four innings of three-hit, one-run relief by Josh Turner.
Now 5-2 on the season, the Bryant 15’s are scheduled to play at Harmony Grove in Haskell on Monday night at 6 p.m. The Bryant 17’s (much the same team) plays Harmony Grove’s 17-and-under team at 8 p.m.
The game-turning fifth for the Sox began with a walk to Conner Coleman. He took second on a wild pitch then Turner sacrificed him to third. Walks to Blaine Sears and Lawson Speer followed before Ryan Riggs belted a two-run double to center to snap the tie.
Speer scored on a passed ball to make it 8-5 then Riggs, who moved up on the passed ball, scored when Noah Davis bounced out to second and the Warriors tried to catch Riggs off the bag at third and threw errantly.
Turner worked around a two-out error in the top of the sixth then the Sox were heled in the home half despite loading the bases on a single by Ethan Andrews and walks to Turner and Sears.
Atlanta tried mound a rally in the top of the seventh. Turner and his team’s defense recorded the first two outs before a single and a hit batsman set the table. The lead runner stole third then scored before the trail runner was caught off second for the final out.
Kannon Allison, the Bryant starter on the hill, set down the Warriors in order to start the game. In the bottom of the first, the Sox staked out a 4-0 lead.
Speer walked, and Riggs was plunked by a 1-0 delivery. Davis flew out to right and Speer tagged and went to third. Garret Wilson singled up the middle to make it 1-0.
With Riggs at third and Wilson at first, the Sox worked a double steal and Riggs scored as Wilson made it to second after drawing a throw.
The inning continued with a walk to Tyler Bates. Allison sacrificed the runners to second and third then Will Hathcote beat out an infield hit to plate Wilson, making it 3-0.
Bates would score on a wild pitch as Andrews was working a walk.
The Warriors clipped three runs off of Bryant’s lead in the top of the second. An error and a pair of walksgot the uprising started. A double plated two and a single made it 4-3.
The Sox tacked on a run in the bottom of the second when, with one out, Sears doubled, Speer singled and Sears scored on a balk.
But the Atlanta team used a pair of singles and a pair of groundouts to pull even in the top of the third.
After being retired 1-2-3 in the third and the fourth, the Sox broke it open in the fifth.
