SHERWOOD — After winning their first two games at the 8-and-under State Tournament, the Bryant 7-year-old All-Stars ran into the team that made the most noise in the tourney as seventh graders last year.
The Sylvan Hills Cardinals team, which finished a surprising fifth at the 8-and-under State tourney in 2009 figures to be one of the favorites as 8-year-olds this summer. On Saturday, that Sylvan Hills team handled the Bryant 7’s, who are hoping to be the upstarts of the 2010 State tourney.
But they’ll have to fight back through the losers bracket to get it done after last year’s upstarts beat this year’s upstart-wanna-be’s 13-5 on Saturday.
The team of 7-year-olds, managed by Matt Orender with assistance from Patrick Schroeder, includes Luke Bessire, Dakota Clay, Cooper Davis, Noah Davis, Peyton Dillon, Austin Ledbetter, Jaggar Littleton, Justin Orender, Brett Pennington, Austin Schroeder, Lawson Speer and Garrett Wilson.[more]
The Bryant Stars will return to action on Sunday at 2:15 p.m., against a team to be determined.
The Cardinals got their first four batters aboard and proceeded to rack up 5 runs.
Bryant stayed in the game by scoring three times in the bottom of the frame. Bessire singled as did Noah Davis. Bessire was forced out at third but Dillon drilled a double and Orender came through with an RBI single.
Sylvan Hills, however, struck for six runs in the bottom of the second – an uprising which was capped off by a home run.
Bryant made a bid to mount a comeback in the bottom of the inning. Cooper Davis, Clay and Pennington singled to produce a run then, Littleton grounded into a force at third that retired Pennington but allowed Clay to score, making it 11-5.
With one out, Bessire singled but Noah Davis grounded into a force a third to end the uprising.
Sylvan Hills tacked on single insurance runs in the fourth and fifth while Bryant was struggling to get anything going. Ledbetter singled to lead off the third but the next three batters were retired. In the fourth, Wilson and Cooper Davis singled before Sylvan Hills closed out the victory, leaving them stranded.
