Hot-hitting Bryan sparks AAA victory
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be 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
STUTTGART — Todd Bryan went 4-for-5 and the Bryant Blacksox cracked 14 hits in five innings to blast the Stuttgart Ricemen 14-2 on Wednesday, May 19, at Charlie Parker Field.
With three singles and a double, Bryan scored three times and drove in a run. He also swiped a base. The Wood cousins, Travis and Richie, each had two hits while Jeff Carpenter and Scott Peeler drove in two apiece.
Daniel Price, Daniel Minton and Carpenter teamed up to limit Stuttgart to five hits in the game. Three of those came in a run-scoring second. Minton worked around a single and a walk in the fourth and Carpenter walked a pair and gave up an RBI single before closing the game out in the bottom of the fifth. It was the first chance for Minton and Carpenter to get on the mound and knock off the rust after spending a year in college.
Bryant’s offense put up runs in every inning, starting with a four-spot in the first. Bryan singled and stole second. After Carpenter walked, Justin Wells belted an RBI double.
A walk to Zack Young loaded the bases. Carpenter scored on a wild pitch then Travis Wood singled in the third tally of the frame. An out later, Young scored on Scott Peeler’s groundout to second.
In the second inning, Carpenter and Wells were hit with pitches from Stuttgart starter Zach Smith. A pair of wild pitches followed and it was 5-0.
Richie Wood opened the third with a long double to right-center. With one out Korey Hunter slapped a single up the middle that was hit too hard to get Wood home. But a balk by Smith did the trick in that regard. And, with two out, Bryan crushed a double to left-center to make it 7-1.
Despite a pitching change along the way, the next three Bryant batters walked forcing in Bryan before the inning came to a close.
The romp was on after a four-run fourth. Again, Richie Wood was the instigator with an infield hit. Peeler grounded to third but a wild throw to second in an attempt at a force resulted. With one out, Josh Groves singled in a run. Bryan’s base hit to right loaded the bases. Carpenter picked up an RBI with a bouncer to short then Dustin Tinkler, running for Groves, came home when Wells reached on an error. A wild pitch allowed Bryan to score, making it 12-1.
The Sox continued to tee off in the fifth. Travis Wood doubled, Cory Lambert singled him to third and Peeler singled him home. With two down, Bryan beat out a slow grounder to short for his fourth hit, loading the bases for Carpenter, whose single finished the scoring.
Newman, Grisham lead AA Sox to road win
By ROB PATRICK
BRYANT TIMES
STUTTGART — For their first road game of the season — and for most of them, their American Legion careers — the Bryant Blacksox AA squad got a lift from their veteran leaders on Wednesday, May 19.
John Newman and Casey Grisham both played key roles in the AA Sox’ season last summer including repeated trips to Stuttgart’s Charlie Parker Field when the team made a run in the Area IV District Tournament.
On Wednesday, Newman stepped up with a 3-for-3 day with a walk, driving home two and scoring three times and Grisham added two hits and a free pass, scoring twice to lead the Sox to a 12-4 win in five innings over the Ricemen.
The win improved Bryant to 2-0 going into a doubleheader on Saturday at Russellville.
Right-hander Danny Reimenschneider picked up the win, working three shutout innings, allowing just two hits, fanning four without a walk.
Aided by three errors, Stuttgart managed four runs in the fourth inning against reliever Cory Caldwell but Tanner Zuber came on to get out of the inning and finished the game.
Newman was involved in each of Bryant’s scoring innings. In the second, Aaron Beard led off with a single but was thrown out trying to get to third on Newman’s bloop to left. But Newman alertly took second on the play at third. After David Martin walked, Gaston Youngblood hit a grounder to short. Stuttgart went for the force at second but an errant throw allowed Martin to get in safely. And, again, Newman was hustling. He rounded third and scored on the play to make it 1-0.
Reimenschneider surrendered a couple of hits to start the bottom of the inning but struck out the next two and got the third out on a grounder to second to end the threat.
In turn, the Sox blew the game open with a seven-run outburst in the top of the third. Grisham was the instigator with a one-out single to right. He raced to third when Aaron Davidson followed with a single up the middle. After courtesy runner Zach Kitchens swiped second, Beard drove in a run with a base hit, taking second on a late throw home.
After Kitchens scored on a wild pitch, Stuttgart made a pitching change but it didn’t slow the Sox down. Another wild pitch allowed Beard to score before Newman walked and stole second. Martin’s bloop single sent him to third and when Youngblood’s bouncer to third drew a bad throw, Newman scored.
After Youngblood swiped second, Martin scored on yet another wild pitch, then so did Youngblood as Zach Sanders drew a walk. Reimenschneider drew a free pass as well then the fourth wild pitch of the inning put runners at second and third for Devin Hurt who, after another pitching change, delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 8-0.
After Reimenschneider worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the third, the Sox tacked on a run in the fourth on a single by Newman and a pair of Stuttgart errors.
After Stuttgart cut the lead to 9-4 in the bottom of the inning, Bryant took the mystery out of the result with three more in the top of the fifth. A two-out single by Grisham got things started. Davidson reached on an error and Beard walked to load the bases for Newman who delivered a two-run double. An error allowed Beard to score moments later.
Zuber worked around a walk and an infield hit in the bottom of the fifth to close out the win.
