Hornets ease into Sheridan finals
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
SHERIDAN — The Bryant Hornets advanced to the finals of the Sheridan Invitational Tournament by easing to wins over Pine Bluff Dollarway and White Hall on Saturday, March 4.
Bryant was set to play AAAAA-Central Conference rival Little Rock Central in the finals on Tuesday, March 7, trying to win the Sheridan event for the fifth year in a row.
To get to the finals, the Hornets blasted Dollarway 16-1 in three innings (actually two at-bats for the Hornets) Saturday afternoon then, that evening, drubbing White Hall 10-1.
It was a big day for Bryant senior Aaron Davidson who drove in eight runs, going 3 for 6 with two doubles and his first home run between the two games and pitched five strong innings to pick up the win over White Hall.
The wins improved Bryant to 5-1 on the season.
In the win over White Hall, Davidson scattered four hits, walked one, hit one and struck out nine while surrendering one unearned run in his five innings on the mound. Tanner Zuber relieved in the sixth and retired six of the seven batters he faced, the lone baserunner coming via a walk.
The Hornets led just 2-0 through four innings then blew it open with three runs in the fifth and four in the sixth.
Sophomore lead-off man David Guarno continued his hot hitting going 3-for-3 with a walk, three stolen bases, three RBI’s and four runs scored.
Danny Riemenschneider, David Martin and Jake Jackson had two hits each. Six Hornets combined to steal nine bases in the game.
Bryant grabbed the lead in the first. Guarno led off with a double and Riemenschneider beat out a bunt for a single. With one out, Davidson picked up the RBI with a sacrifice fly.
In the third, Guarno instigated things with a walk and a stolen base. He aggressively tagged on Riemenschneider’s fly to left and advanced, so he was able to score when Drew Short’s grounder to third was misplayed.
Davidson, meanwhile, worked out of a two-on, no one out jam in the second. In the third, he hit a batter and issued his lone walk with one out but fanned the next two batters to leave them stranded. In the fourth, he pitched around a one-out single.
In the fifth, Jackson greeted reliever Lathan Bradshaw with a double to right-center. Guarno lined a single up the middle to bring him home then stole second. Riemenshneider was robbed of a hit by shortstop Dustin Huggins but Guarno took third on the play and hustled home on Short’s infield hit, making it 4-0.
Short stole second and scored on Ryan Wilson’s two-out, two-strike single to right.
White Hall got its long run in the bottom of the inning on a pair of bloop singles and a two-out errant pickoff throw. But Davidson struck out Jonathan Halbert to strand a runner at third.
Martin’s one-out single started the sixth inning uprising. He stole second then took third on a base hit to left by Jackson. After Jackson swiped second, Guarno lashed a single to center that brought both of them home. And when the throw back to the infield got past the second baseman, Guarno sprinted into second. Moments later, he stole third. Riemenschneider was hit by a pitch and swiped second to set the table for Davidson’s inning-capping two-run double to make it 9-1.
After Zuber worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning, Martin singled and scored on a two-out double by Jordan Knight to set the final score.
The Bryant-Dollarway game was played on a Babe Ruth Field at Sheridan and the Hornets took advantage as Davidson and Wilson each hammered home runs.
The Hornets spotted the Cardinals a run in the top of the inning. Starter Alex Kehrees took awhile to settle in but, after giving up the three hits, the lefty struck out five of the last seven batters he faced, working around a lead-off single in the second.
Bryant scored seven times in the first inning. Davidson doubled home two then Wilson smacked his three-run homer. Later, Riemenschneider singled in a pair of runs.
In the second, Bryant took advantage of three Dollarway errors with four hits to score nine times. Jackson drove in a run, Riemenschneider singled in two more, Short doubled in a run then Davidson hit a long drive to left that Dollarway left fielder Jamaine Shepherd appeared to catch at the fence. But the ball popped out of his glove and over the fence for a three-run homer.
