Price, bats lift AAA Sox in opener
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By ROB PATRICK
BRYANT TIMES
STUTTGART — Daniel Price hadn’t pitched since late April but it didn’t look like it. Price, who returned to the Bryant Blacksox AAA American Legion team after a year pitching for the University of Central Arkansas Bears, allowed two first-inning singles and one run then retired 13 batters in a row as the Sox opened the 2005 season with an 8-1 win over the Stuttgart Ricemen on Tuesday, May 24.
As a freshman this spring, Price was 1-2 with a 3.59 earned run average in 42 2/3 innings for the Bears. Despite his layoff, he showed no signs of rust, striking out 10 in five innings without a walk.
Danny Riemenschneider pitched two hitless innings in relief, fanning four and issuing the Sox’ lone walk. He also worked around Bryant’s lone error.
At the plate, the Sox pounded out 12 hits including two each by Devin Hurt, Riemenschneider, Aaron Davidson, Corey Lambert and Casey Grisham. One of Grisham’s was a solo homer with one out in the top of the seventh inning, capping off the Hornets’ win.
The Sox, playing without three players away on senior trips and ace lefty Travis Wood who’s idle while awaiting the 2005 Major League draft on June 7, took a 2-0 lead in the opening frame. Hurt singled and stole second. With one out, Justin Wells walked then Davidson laced a shot to the gap in left-center that drove home the first run. And when the ball was mishandled in the outfield, Wells raced to third and Davidson wound up at second. Wells sprinted home on a grounder to third by Zack Young to make it 2-0.
Young drove in three runs in the game.
In the bottom of the inning, Stuttgart’s leadoff hitter Blake Lockwood hit a roller to the right side that first sacker Casey Grisham ranged far to his left to field. But the speedy Lockwood beat Price, who was covering the bag, to first for an infield hit.
Lockwood swiped second but remained there with two out when his brother Joseph slapped a single to left to plate the run.
Price struck out Alex Smith, his mound counterpart, to end the inning and didn’t allow another baserunner. At one point, he struck out out five in a row mixing his sharp-breaking curve in combination with a sneaky-fast fastball to befuddle the Ricemen.
The Sox added to their lead in the second. Price was hit by a pitch to start the inning. An out later, Tyler Pickett and Hurt drew walks to load them up for Riemenschneider who came through with a sharp two-run single to left.
It stayed 4-1 until the fifth when singles by Young, Lambert and Grisham produced another Bryant tally.
Joseph Lockwood relieved in the sixth and the Sox picked up two more. Hurt singled and, with two down, Davidson chased him to third with a basehit to left. Young ripped a double to left-center that brought Davidson all the way around from first, scoring behind Hurt to make it 7-1.
After Riemenschneider relieved and struck out two to work around a walk in the bottom of the inning, Grisham unloaded on a 2-1 delivery from the third Stuttgart pitcher, Dylan Newton, with one out in the top of the seventh.
Joseph Lockwood reached on the error to open the bottom of the inning but Riemenschneider struck out the next two before Young made a fine play to his left on a grounder by Newton to end the game.
The Sox were set to make their home debut at Bryant High School Field on Thursday, May 26, against Lake Hamilton.
