LITTLE ROCK — A tough 7-5 loss to the Little Rock Junior Deputy All-Stars have the Bryant 12-and-under Cal Ripken All-Stars (50/70) scrambling to get another shot at them in the championship round.
Bryant opened with a 19-1 blowout over Jacksonville on Friday, July 10, then drubbed Hot Springs 11-0 to advance to the winners bracket final against Junior Deputy on Sunday.
Tonight, they’re set to play the survivor of the Benton-Lakewood game earlier in the evening. With a win, Bryant would need to beat Junior Deputy twice on Tuesday and win the tournament and gain a bid to Regionals in Springdale.
The Bryant 12-year-olds who play on the diamond with 50-foot pitching distance and 70-foot basepaths, coached by Danny Jackson, include Ben Bruick, Britan Crouch, Devin Dupree, Hunter Fugitt, Jason Hastings, Dalton Holt, Zachary Jackson, Hunter Oglesby, Blake Patterson, Drew Tipton, Jacob Ward, Brandon Warner and John Winn.[more]
LR Junior Deputy 7, Bryant 5
Bryant was playing catch up after the first inning when Junior Deputy jumped out to a 5-0 lead with two runs in the first and three in the second.
A three-run third got Bryant back into the game. A one-out walk to Patterson got things started. With two down, Winn blasted a home run to make it 5-2. A pitch later, Hastings launched a solo shot to make it 5-3.
The inning continued with singles by Fugitt and Warner but both were stranded.
Hastings, who started on the mound for Bryant, worked a 1-2-3 third inning with the help of a fine play by Winn in center who threw out a runner at first to end the inning.
But Bryant had no better luck in the top of the fourth. Junior Deputy used a singled, a misplayed sacrifice bunt and a double to pad the lead by two in the bottom of the frame.
Bryant mounted a rally in the fifth with another home run by Winn after Tipton had singled to start the inning. The next three were retired, however, and, in the sixth, all they could muster was a two-out walk to Oglesby.
Bryant 11, Hot Springs 0
Warner, Dupree and Patterson combined a four-inning one-hitter. The lone hit came with two down in the fourth.
Bryant broke the game open with a six-run second. In the first, they’d taken a 1-0 lead on a double by Hastings and a single by Fugitt.
The second began with a base hit byWarner who was balked to second. Jackson beat out a bunt for a hit, moving Warner to third. After Jackson swiped second, Patterson rippled a double to right-center to chase both home.
Patterson swiped third and, an out later, raced home on Tipton’s single up the middle. And when the ball was misplayed in center, Tipton wound up at second. Winn’s bunt single got him to third then Hastings pounded a 1-2 pitch over the fence in left-center to make it 7-0.
Bryant made it a run-rule game with four runs in the third. Warner instigated things again with a single up the middle. Jackson reached on an error then they advanced on a double steal. Patterson delivered a sacrifice fly to left for his third RBI, Tipton doubled in a run then Winn unloaded for a two-run shot to complete the uprising.
Bryant 19, Jacksonville 1
A 10-run third blew up the opener. Bryant held a 5-1 lead going into the inning then added four more in the fourth to complete the romp.Holt, Ward and Jackson each got some work on the mound for Bryant. The lone Jacksonville run came in the second on a single and a walk with two down followed by a run-scoring double.
Bryant’s opening salvo began with a walk to Tipton who scored when Winn’s drive to right was misplayed. Hastings singled in the second run and went to second on an error. He stole third and, when Fugitt walked, swiped home. Later, Warner singled, advanced on a balk, stole third and scored on a passed ball.
In the second, Tipton slapped a two-out single, stole his way to third and scored on a base hit by Winn to make it 5-0.
After Jacksonville got on the board in the bottom of the inning, the bottom fell out in the top of the third.
An error started the onslaught allowing Fugitt to reach. He stole second, took third on a single by Holt and scored on a balk.
With one out, Jackson singled and another balk allowed Holt to score. Jackson advanced to second then stole third ahead of an RBI single by Patterson. Bruick doubled him in to make it 7-0.
Tipton’s bunt was misplayed allowing Bruick to come around to score. Winn walked and, after Tipton scored on a passed ball, Hastings singled in Winn. A walk to Fugitt kept the inning going for Holt who doubled in a run. Fugitt scored on a passed ball and Holt came home on a sacrifice fly by Warner to complete the inning.
Hastings slugged a three-run homer in the fourth. Ward singled and came around to score on a balk and a pair of passed balls to set the final score.
