Young’s blast 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
BENTON — In the spring of 2004, Zack Young led the Bryant Hornets in homeruns with five and he added another during the summer American Legion season. But this spring, Young went without a dinger during the high school season. So, when he slugged a first-inning blast over the fence in left-center against Benton McClendon’s at Bernard Holland Park, it was a load off the third-sacker’s mind.
But then there was the rain which threatened to end the game before the required five innings and thus wipe out the results and the stats. As threatening as it could get, however, the downpour and the lightning never came and Young’s homer stood and he and the Blacksox AAA Legion team posted their first Area IV victory, 6-1.
Daniel Price improved to 2-0 with five innings of two-hit pitching. He surrendered a run in the first as Benton’s first four runners reached base. But then he struck out the side leaving them loaded and allowed just one hit and one walk over the next four innings. He fanned 12 and picked up the win with two innings of relief help from Danny Reimeschnieder.
Benton only had two hits (out of five) that got out of the infield against the Bryant duo.
The Sox took the lead in that first inning. Before Young unloaded for a two-out, two-run shot, Todd Bryan had scored after drawing a lead-off walk, racing to third on an misplayed pickoff attempt and trotting home on Justin Wells’ lined single to left. So Young’s shot made it 3-0.
Benton scored on a walk, a hit batter, a bunt single and an error in the bottom of the inning, then Price retired 15 of the next 17 he faced.
The Sox tacked on a pair of runs in the third. With one out, Aaron Davidson’s single was booted in the outfield (one of six Benton errors), allowing him to get to second. Young was hit by a pitch and, after a pitching change, Cory Lambert and Richie Wood drew walks to force in a run. With two down, Travis Queck’s grounder got between the legs of Benton pitcher Cory Roberts and a second run scored, making it 5-1.
In the top of the sixth, Devin Hurt, who had two hits in the AAA game after racking up three in the AA game earlier in the evening, cracked a double to right-center. Wells walked and, after another pitching change for Benton, a pitch in the dirt bounced a short distance away from catcher Zack Pringle. Hurt alertly bolted for third, drawing a late throw from Pringle that was out of the reach of the third baseman. Hurt hustled home to make it 6-1.
Reimeschnieder pitched around a pair of scratch hits in the sixth then a lead-off single in the seventh to close out the win.
Bryant, 3-0, was set to play another league game on Wednesday, June 1, at home against Little Rock Blue.
