Bryant holds on to whip Sylvan Hills
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
SHERWOOD — With no one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Sylvan Hills Bears had the tying run on second. They trailed the Bryant Hornets 5-4 after Dominique Craft had opened the inning with a solo home run, his third hit of the game.
At second was Danny Hurt, running for Jeremy Brown who had smacked a pinch-hit double to follow Craft’s blast against Bryant starter Anthony Rose.
Rose got Ryan Parker to fly to left for the first out of the inning then Hurt moved to third when Nick Miller grounded out to second.
With two down, Rose faced Jason Duncan, another pinch-hitter, with Sylvan Hills’ star Bubba Dickens waiting on deck. The count went to 3-2 before Duncan earned a walk.
Up came Dickens, who had earlier lashed a double to left. But Rose, changing speeds and spotting his fastball, got the first two strikes on Dickens. Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton then decided to put the onus on the Bryant defense. He sent Duncan early from first, hoping to force a rundown that would allow Hurt to score.
But Rose calmly stepped off the rubber and watched as Duncan committed himself to reaching second, though he was supposed to stop midway between the bags. Rose fired to second baseman Dustin Morris who tagged out Duncan, ending the game with Hurt still at third and Tipton shaking his head.
The win on Friday, March 17, was Bryant’s third in a row and sixth in the last seven games. Earlier in the season, Sylvan Hills had edged the Hornets 5-3, one of Bryant’s three setbacks this season. So it had added significance. Bryant improved to 9-3 with the victory and Rose, the senior lefty, upped his mark to 4-0.
The Hornets were opportunistic, scoring five runs on five hits, taking advantage of five Sylvan Hills errors and four walks.
The Bears had jumped on top initially with a two-run second. Justin Reffner walked and, an out later, Craft laced a double to left. Hurt produced the run with a sacrifice fly to center then Parker chased Craft home with a two-bagger.
With the top of the order up, the Hornets got out of the jam when Drew Lawson gunned down Parker trying to steal third.
In turn, the Hornets scored their first run without a hit. Cody Graddy’s bouncer to third drew a wild throw then walks to Lawson and Tad Beene loaded the bases. Sylvan Hills starter Quinton Richardson then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Graddy to score, making it 2-1.
Richardson then pitched out of the jam, leaving two stranded.
The Bears added to their lead in the fourth when Justin Bybee walked, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a single to left by Craft.
Down 3-1, the Hornets rallied in the top of the fifth. Beene, who walked all three times he came to the plate in the game, led off the fifth. Matt White then blooped a single down the left-field line to put runners at first and second.
Brandon Nichols then placed a sacrifice bunt and when Richardson fielded and threw beyond the reach of Hurt, the second baseman covering first, the Hornets had the bases loaded.
Dustin Morris followed with a slow roller to short that Miller fielded well only to have his throw pull Craft off the bag at first. Beene scored to cut the lead to 3-2.
Rose followed with a bloop single to left to tie it.
Michael McClellan ripped a single past first to bring Nichols home and end the day for Richardson.
John Reynolds relieved and Matt Brown bounced to second. The Bears got a force at second as Morris scored the fourth run of the frame.
Reynolds then got out of the jam by fanning Graddy and getting Lawson to fly to right.
But Rose had enough of a lead. He worked around a walk in the bottom of the fifth then had a 1-2-3 sixth before the trouble reared up again in the seventh.
