AA Sox notch 8th straight win
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
BENTON — After winning five games in three days to win the Benton wood bat tournament, the Bryant Black Sox AA American Legion team returned to Bernard Holland Park and came away with another victory over one of the teams they didn’t play in the tourney, the host Benton Big Red Fina squad.
The Sox rallied twice to come away with a 9-6 win, their eighth in a row, improving to 9-1 on the season going into a trip to Harrison for more tournament action June 3-4.
The arm-weary Bryant pitching staff got a lift from right-hander Zach Cross who, in his first appearance of the season, turned in three shutout innings to start the game. Justin Gaddy, the third Sox pitcher, picked up the win in relief, allowing just one unearned run at two hits over the final three frames.
Offensively, Jordan Knight, Cody Walker and Matt Hargrave each had two hits and Preston Adami drove in two runs for the Sox.
The Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Michael Haydon singled but was forced at second on a grounder off of Logan Cruse’s bat. With two down, Cruse, however, scored all the way from first on a long double by Hargrave. Adami followed with a looping single to right. Hargrave, the Bryant catcher, and Benton catcher Drew Simpson collided at the plate and Simpson couldn’t hold the throw as Hargrave scored the second run.
In the third, Knight doubled. An out later, Walker was hit by a pitch. The duo worked a double steal and Knight wound up scoring on a groundout by Haydon to make it 3-0.
Cross, on a pitch count, worked around a pair of walks in the second and an infield hit and a walk in the third. In the fourth, Jeremy Burge relieved and issued a pair of walks and a bloop single. With a pair of Bryant errors contributing, Benton erupted for five runs to take the lead. Colby Roberts had an RBI single and Taylor Cash and Simpson each had doubles before Burge could get the final out.
The Sox, however, put together their own rally in the top of the fifth as Danny Wooldridge came on in relief of starter Derek Jester. Knight greeted the new pitcher with a single to right. With one out, Walker cracked a base hit to left. Wooldridge got Haydon to fly to center and appeared to be out of the inning when Curse hit a roller to third. But the Benton first baseman missed the throw from third sacker Dustin Johnson and both runners scored to tie the game.
Gaddy worked around a lead-off single in the fifth but, in the sixth, Roberts beat out an infield hit, Simpson drew a two-out walk and a two-out Bryant error allowed Roberts to score, putting Big Red back on top, 6-5.
In the top of the seventh, however, Bryant scored four times on just one hit. A walk to Walker started the inning. He stole second but jammed his ankle and Trent Daniel came on to run. Haydon got a bunt down and was safe at first when Johnson held the runner at second.
Cruse followed with a bunt that no one fielded. It was good for a base hit to load the bases.
Daniel scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. After Ryan Guffey walked, Hargrave hit a grounder to Brandon Autry at short. Autry fielded the ball and threw home for a force but the throw was wild and both Haydon and Cruse scored. Moments later, Adami’s sacrifice fly made it 9-6.
Gaddy retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to nail down the victory.
