Junior Sox run-rule Sheridan, advance to winners’ bracket final
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CONWAY — Back on June 18, the Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion team traveled to Sheridan and suffered a 9-5 loss to the Peoples Bank Swarm. So, it was with some extra intensity that they took on the Sheridan team on Saturday evening in the winners’ bracket semifinal in the Junior State Tournament at UCA’s Bear Stadium.
Bryant will face Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet in the winners’ bracket finals Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Jacksonville advanced with a 7-5 win over Texarkana on Saturday night.
The Sox hammered out 10 hits including three by Noah Davis and two each for Ryan Riggs and Lawson Speer, taking advantage of six walks, four hit batsmen and two Sheridan errors to forge a 13-3 run-rule victory.
Will Hathcote and Davis split the mound duties for Bryant. Two of Sheridan’s four hits and two of Hathcote’s three walks came in a three-run second. The Swarm was blanked on two hits the last three innings.
The Sox, managed by Ozzie Hurt, includes Ethan Andrews, Tyler Bates, Gavin Burton, Dakota Clay, Davis, Peyton Dillon, Hathcote, Drew Hatman, Aaron Morgan, Colby Morrow, Kyler Pabon, J.T. Parker, Riggs, Blaine Sears, Speer, Hayden Thompson, Josh Turner and Logan White.
Bryant actually led 5-0 by the time Sheridan came to bat in the second. Riggs started the Sox’ opening salvo with a one-out liner down the left-field line for a double. Davis beat out an infield hit then Riggs sprinted home on a wild pitch as J.T. Parker drew a walk from Sheridan starter Levi Flora.
Davis stole third and scored when, with Parker running off first, Hathcote hit a hard grounder up the middle. Shortstop Evan Ward made a diving stop and fired to first in time. But Davis scored and Parker sailed all the way to third.
Morgan hit a grounder to the right side and was robbed of a hit by second baseman Layne Flippin. But the throw to first was errant and Morgan was safe as Parker scored to make it 3-0.
Morgan stole second, reached third on Josh Turner’s infield hit and, after a pitching change, Clay walked to load the bases for Sears, who lashed a liner to right for a two-run single to make it 5-0.
Speer was struck by an 0-2 pitch to load the bases, but Riggs was robbed of another hit by Flippin, who made a good throw this time for the third out.
Hathcote had retired the side in order in the top of the first thanks to Riggs who threw out Seth Thornbrew trying to steal second after drawing a one-out walk.
In the second, Ward led off with a triple to right-center. But he was out trying to score on Thomas Anderson’s bounce to Clay at third.
Walks to Flora and Eli Casey loaded the bases, however and Flippin singled in two. The third run scored when Beau Kuttenkuler grounded into a force at second, beating the relay to first.
But Hathcote ended the uprising by getting lead-off man Fischer Thompson to fly to Morgan in right, keeping it 5-3.
He would surrender a lead-off single to Thornbrew in the third then strike out the side. His fourth consecutive strikeout started the fourth then, with his pitch count at 59, Hurt brought on Davis who wound up retiring five of the six batters he faced to finish the game.
In the meantime, Bryant tacked on three in the third. Sears led off with a walk and Speer cracked a single to right-center that sent Sears to third. Sheridan turned to its third pitcher, a lefty to face the left-swinging Riggs.
After Speer stole second on the first pitch, Riggs unfazed by the lefty Thompson drilled a two-run single to right.
An errant pickoff throw got Riggs to second. He then scored when Davis belted a triple into the right-field corner to make it 8-3.
The Sox made it a run-rule lead in the bottom of the fourth. With two down, Sears was hit by a pitch. He stole second and scored on a base hit by Speer.
Riggs walked, Davis singled to load the bases and Parker drew an RBI pass. Another pitching change followed and Hathcote cracked a 1-1 delivery down the line in left for a three-run double.
Rain started to fall intermittently in the top of the fifth. Davis fanned two around a two-out single to finish it.
