The Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion team was on the comeback trail against Benton Williams Tire at Bryant High School Field on Tuesday night. They’d whittled an 8-1 deficit down to 8-5 and had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Lead-off man Zion Collins poked a blooper that had the look of a parachute single but Benton’s Michael Alison, who started the game on the mound, made a diving catch. Ryan Lessenberry, tagged up at third and appeared to have a clear path to scoring Bryant’s sixth run. But Alison popped back to his feet and fired a strike to the plate in time to nab Lessenberry for a game-ending doubleplay.
The result was an 8-5 loss that snapped the Sox’ 10-game winning streak. It was the third setback of the season for Bryant against the third different Benton Junior team. Just before starting their streak, the Sox had lost to Benton Gingles, 5-4, and Benton Sport Shop, 10-0.
A fourth Benton Junior team took on Bryant’s AA squad in a second game on Tuesday.
The Junior Sox, now 14-9, are set to play at home against North Little Rock on Wednesday before taking a day off on Thursday in preparation for The Hagan, the big annual tournament in Memphis this weekend.
Tuesday’s game was scoreless over the first three innings. In the first two, Bryant right-hander Will McEntire pitched around a single in each frame. Held to a pitch limit, McEntire gave way to Christain Motes who pitched a scoreless third, working around a two-out single.
In the meantime, Alison was blanking the Sox, easing to 1-2-3 innings in the first and third. In the second, he fanned the first two batters before Logan Chambers singled to right.
Chambers accounted for half of his team’s six hits in the game.
Lessenberry reached on an error then Cameron Palmer worked a walk to load the bases but Alison and his teammates escaped any damage.
Benton busted up the scoreless contest in the top of the fourth. Logan Easterling drew a walk but Motes retired the next two batters and was a strike away from ending the inning when he struck Jensen White with a pitch.
A bad-hop single by Grant Shelnut plated the first run. A second tally crossed the plate when Sawyer Webb and Alison drew walks. Collins relieved for the Sox at that point and got within a strike again of ending the frame. But Caleb Easterling drilled a single to center to drive in two, making it 4-0. Logan Black’s base hit capped the frame.
Bryant got on the board in the bottom of the inning and threatened to get more than one. But the Sox were denied. Micah Holyfield drew a one-out walk to start the uprising. Chambers hit a grounder to third where White fielded the ball and turned to second to try to get a force or, perhaps starter an inning-ending doubleplay. But his throw skipped in and both runners were safe.
When Lessenberry grounded into a force at second, Holyfield reached third. He scored on Palmer’s pop single to right. Jacob Wright drew a walk to load the bases but all three were stranded.
Collins pitched a scoreless fifth with the help of Lessenberry. After an error allowed Tyler Sheridan to reach base with one out, Lessenberry threw him out trying to steal second. He then caught a foul pop off White’s bat to end the frame.
Alison settled back in and set down the Sox in order in the home fifth.
The sixth brought trouble for Collins. Shelnut beat out an infield hit then Webb walked. A wild pitch allowed them to reach second and third but, when Alison hit a grounder to Konnor Clontz at short with the infield drawn in, he fired a strike to Lessenberry who applied the tag on Shelnut for the first out.
But Caleb Easterling worked a walk and the bases were loaded. Chambers was called in to pitch but, on his second delivery, Black drilled a two-run single to left. With two down, Wes Guera beat out an infield hit, driving in a run that made it 8-1.
In the home sixth, Sawyer Holt was robbed of a hit on a liner to third but Chambers singled and reached second when Lessenberry’s grounder to short drew an errant throw to second. Brooks Ellis singled to load the bases and Wright drilled a double down the left-field line to make it 8-3.
And when Collins’ grounder split the wickets on Black, Benton’s shortstop, Ellis scored as well. A two-out walk to Logan Catton had runners at first and second for Christian Harp who made a bid for extra bases with a towering drive to deep center. But Guera tracked it down to end the inning.
Chambers, with help on a fine play by Ellis in right, eased through a scoreless seventh and the Sox’ final bid to rally commenced with Chambers’ third hit. A one-out walk to Lessenberry was followed by Ellis getting plunked to load the bases. A walk to Wright made it 8-5 and kept the bases full as Collins came to the plate.
