Rose helps Hornets handle Hurricane
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JONESBORO — This time, it was the Bryant Hornets who came up with the one big inning and, as a result of that and some fine pitching from junior lefty Anthony Rose, they also picked up the win, 10-2 over the Jonesboro Hurricane Thursday, March 25.
It was the Hornets’ 10th win of the season. They headed into spring break with a 10-8 record with games scheduled during the week off from school on Thursday, April 1, at home against Little Rock Mills and Malvern.
Rose improved to 3-0 by scattering just six hits and walking only one while striking out 14 in the rout-going performance.
After falling victim to big innings in losses in their two most recent games — losses to Conway and ninth-ranked Fort Smith Southside — the Hornets came through with their own in the third against Jonesboro.
The game was scoreless when lead-off man Tad Beene singled to left to open the third. He scored all the way from first when Billy Landers’ sacrifice bunt attempt drew a wild throw into the right-field corner.
Landers then scored when J.J. Yant bounced a single through the infield.
Two outs later, walks to Rose and Josh Caldwell loaded the bases for Matt Brown who singled to center to plate two more runs, producing a 4-0 lead.
An errant pickoff throw brought Caldwell home then Brandon Fitts singled in Brown to make it 6-0.
Beene walked and Landers singled to load the bases for Yant who lashed a two-run single to right to complete the uprising.
Jonesboro managed its lone two runs in the fourth when a bad-hop single, a bloop hit and Rose’s only walk loaded the bases. Neil York then singled in both runs before the Hornets got out of the inning with a double play.
The Hornets got those two runs back one at a time in the fifth and sixth. In the fifth, Beene got things started again with a one-out single. He swiped second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on another.
In the sixth, Rose pulled a lead-off single to left, took third on a base hit by Caldwell then scored on yet another wild pitch.
The Hornets accumulated 11 hits in the game, two each by Beene, Yant and Kris Kuykendall.
