Bryant rolls to first 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 — Justin Wells and Casey Grisham combined on a one-hit shutout in five innings, and junior Devin Hurt, making his first varsity start, had three hits and three runs batted in as part of an 18-hit outburst in the Bryant Hornets’ 16-0 win over the Little Rock Hall Warriors at J.A. Fair High School Monday, March 7.
It was the AAAAA-Central Conference opener for both teams.
Hall’s only hit was a two-out single through the right side by Mark Carpenter in the first inning. The Warriors didn’t manage another base runner in the game. Wells worked the first two innings, striking out four. Grisham relieved in the third and finished up, fanning six in three frames and collecting the win.
Seventeen Hornets got into the game and 11 of them hit safely. Todd Bryan, Aaron Davidson, Justin Wells, Travis Wood and Bryan Griffith each had two hits. Wood’s included his second home run of the season.
Bryant took advantage of four Hall errors in the first with six hits to take a 6-0 lead. Bryan singled and Davidson doubled to set the table. Wells followed with a two-run single which was booted in the outfield allowing him to race to third. Travis Wood singled him home to make it 3-0.
An errant pickoff throw and Richie Wood’s grounder to short allowed Travis Wood to reach third. He scored from there on Zack Young’s sacrifice fly.
Griffith shattered his bat but beat out an infield single. Corey Lambert followed with a drive to right that was mishandled by Hall’s Chris Alexander. Griffith scored and Lambert wound up at second. He then followed Griffith home when Hurt slapped a single through the right side, making it 6-0.
In the second, Wood belted a solo homer with one out. After Richie Wood was robbed of a hit on a liner to shortstop Fred Schiller, Young doubled and Griffith singled him in, taking second on the late throw home. Lambert doubled in a run then Hurt singled up the middle to make it 10-0.
In the fourth, two-out walks to Hurt and Ryan Wilson set the table for Davidson whose liner to right sliced to the fence for a triple. An errant relay throw allowed him to score, making it 13-0.
Joey Winiecki walked with one out in the fifth. Travis Queck followed with a single then Hunter Nugent delivered a run with a double down the left-field line. Queck scored on a groundout by Drew Short then Hurt capped things off with an RBI double.
The Hornets, now 7-3, were set to travel to play Tulsa, Okla., Union at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith on Friday, March 11.
