Junior Sox stay alive by ousting Sylvan Hills, 11-1
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting 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).
By Rob Patrick
SHERIDAN — Something about the end of a season staring you in the face can sharpen the focus of a baseball team and, on Saturday, July 11, that focus served the Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion team in an elimination game at the 2009 Junior Legion State tourney.
Behind a solid pitching performance by right-hander Caleb Milam and a 12-hit attack that included three by Landon Pickett, who wound up a homer short of the cycly, and two each by Milam and Brodie Nixon, the Sox lived to play another day with an 11-1 victory over the Sylvan Hills Bruins.
The Sox, who improved to 18-11-1 on the season, are set to play again on Sunday at 4:30 p.m., against a team to be determined based on the rest of the games on Saturday.[more]
“We know the situation we’re in, we have to win,” acknowledged Sox manager Brad Chism. “Going in, knowing what you have to do, knowing that if you lose, that’s it — these guys have a different mindset. They’re going out and leaving everything they’ve got on the field. That’s the way we’re going to play the rest of the tournament.”
It helped that they got off to a 6-0 start while Milam retired six of the first seven batters he faced, surrendering only a two-out walk in the first. He would finish with a three-hitter, walking four and fanning three. He was backed by errorless defense.
In the opening inning, Chris Joiner led off with a walk, stole second, took third on Lucas Castleberry’s grounder to the right side and scored on a wild pitch by Bruins’ lefty Blake Hannon. Pickett then laced a triple into the gap in right-center and, moments later, he too scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.
“The first inning was big for us,” Chism said, referring to Friday’s 4-2 loss to Paragould in which the Sox had just five hits. “We knew we had to get on the board early. Coming off yesterday when we only had five hits and only scored two runs, we knew if we could get runs on the board, the hits were going to come. Yesterday, we hit the ball some but right at guys. We’ve told them all along, you keep swinging the bat and they’ll eventually find a hole.”
And that’s what happened in the second. Again, a walk helped get things started, this time to Evan Jobe, who proceeded to swipe second just as Joiner had. He took third on a passed ball and scored when Milam’s bouncer to first was booted by Austin Spears. Blake Davidson followed with a single up the middle and Joiner drove in Milam with a single to left-center. After Castleberry drew a walk to load the bases, Michael Lock came on in relief for Sylvan Hills. A wild pitch allowed Davidson to score and a passed ball brought Joiner in to make it 6-0.
Sylvan Hills managed its lone run in the bottom of the third. With one out, James Pepin walked, took second on a passed ball and scored on a double by Cain Cormier. But Milam struck out Trey Sims and, after a walk to Lance Hunter, got Spears to fly to left to keep it to that.
And the Sox responded with three in the top of the fourth. Because he was hustling out of the box, Davidson reached third when his fly to right was misplayed. He scored on Joiner’s sacrifice fly to make it 7-1. Castleberry beat out an infield hit on a slow roller to short that drew a wild throw allowing him to take second. And when Pickett drilled one off the top of the fence in left, just missing a home run, Castleberry scored to make it 8-1. A sacrifice fly by Dylan Pritchett got Pickett home.
In the home fourth, Milam was greeted by a double down the left-field line by Blake Rasdon and a single up the middle by Justin Cook. Rasdon had to hold at third on the second hit, however, because the ball was hit so hard and Joiner, in center, made an aggressive charge on the ball.
That proved vital because, Milam got the next two batters to roll out to Nixon at third — the second play was stellar on both ends as Pickett dug out his throw to first as Rasdon held at third. Milam then struck out Pepin to leave both runners stranded.
Bryant put the finishing touches on the win in the top of the sixth. Pickett singled and, an out later, Nixon stroked a base hit into left. Jobe beat out a bunt single to laod the bases and, with two down, Milam ripped a liner off Aaron Sarne, the third Bruins pitcher, it ricocheted into left-center, driving in two runs and setting the final score.
Milam finished it off with a 1-2-3 ninth, needing just eight pitches.
Sylvan Hills ended its season with a 21-8 record.
BRYANT 11, SYLVAN HILLS 1
Black Sox ab r h bi Bruins ab r h bi
Joiner, cf 1 2 1 2 Cormier, ss 2 0 1 1
Castleberry, ss 3 1 1 0 Sims, lf 3 0 0 0
Pickett, 1b 4 3 3 0 Hunter, c 1 0 0 0
Pritchett, c 3 0 0 1 Spears, 1b 3 0 0 0
Nixon, 3b 4 1 2 1 Rasdon, dh-rf 2 0 1 0
Jobe, lf 3 1 1 0 Harrison, ph 1 0 0 0
Brown, 2b 3 0 1 0 Cook, cf 3 0 1 0
Milam, p 4 1 2 3 Lock, rf-p 2 0 0 0
Davidson, rf 4 2 1 0 Sarne, p 0 0 0 0
Dillon, ph 1 0 0 0
Chastain, 3b 2 0 0 0
Russenberger,3b0 0 0 0
Pepin, 2b 1 1 0 0
Hannon, p 0 0 0 0
Totals 29 11 12 7 Totals 21 1 3 1
Bryant 240 302 — 11
Sylvan Hills 001 000 — 1
E—Spears, Rasdon, Cormier, Russenberger. LOB—Bryant 7, Sylvan Hills 6. 2B—Pickett, Cormier, Rasdon. 3B—Pickett. SB—Joiner, Jobe. SF—Joiner, Pritchett.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
Bryant
Milam (W) 6 1 0 3 4 3
Sylvan Hills
Hannon (L) 1.1 6 4 3 3 0
Lock 2.2 3 0 5 0 0
Sarne 2 2 2 4 1 1
Lock faced two batters in the fifth.
HBP—Brown (by Lock). WP—Milam, Lock. PB—Hunter 2, Pritchett.
