Hornets notch 2nd league win
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 continue posting 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
BRYANT TIMES
LITTLE ROCK — Somehow amid the frigid temperatures and an intermittent rain that, at times, bordered on sleet, Justin Wells found his groove.
The senior right-hander, working on just three days rest after a stint in relief on Friday against Tulsa Union, had it all going — fastball, curve and split — and struck out nine consecutive Little Rock Catholic batters on his way to a 12-strikeout performance that keyed the Bryant Hornets’ 4-2 win at Lamar Porter Field on Tuesday, March 15.
A conference win, the Hornets improved to 2-0 in the AAAAA-Central Conference, 8-4 overall as they got set to play in the Billy Bock Classic in Pine Bluff starting with a game against Conway on Thursday, March 17.
Wells allowed just two hits over the first six innings of the game. One of those hits, however, was a lined single to right by Gil Johnson with two out in the bottom of the first. It chased home the first run of the game. Steven Head had walked to open the inning. His courtesy runner tried to swipe second and appeared to be out but the ball was knocked loose from the Bryant infielder. Wells fanned the next two before giving up the RBI single.
After squandering a lead-off double by Richie Wood in the top of the third, the Hornets tied it in the top of the fourth. Wells’ one-out double into the left-corner set the table with one out, A wild pitch allowed him to take third and he scored from there on Zack Young’s sacrifice fly.
The Hornets loaded the bases in the fifth inning but couldn’t get a tie-breaking run in. Wells was called out on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning. The pitch appeared to be well outside and the call drew the wrath of the Bryant fans and Hornets head coach Terry Harper. But the protests came to nothing.
With Wells in the midst of his domination, the Hornets snapped the tie in their turn at bat in the sixth. Consecutive doubles by Aaron Davidson and Young gave Bryant a 2-1 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Todd Bryan belted a one-out triple to center field. Travis Wood followed with a sinking liner to right that evaded Catholic’s Joseph Kaminsky who made a head-long dive at the ball. Wood moved up to third on a fly out to right by Wells then scored another insurance run when Davidson’s tap back to the mound was booted by Rockets’ ace Brandon White, his team’s third pitcher of the day.
And that insurance proved big. To lead off the bottom of the seventh, Daniel Hennessey cracked a single to left. He advanced to third on consecutive groundouts before Michael Squires singled to left to make it 4-2.
Bryan came on to relieve Wells and, though an error extended the inning, notched his second save of the season when he got Nathan Hill to tap to Wells at short for a force at second.
