PETAL, Miss. — The Bryant All-Stars opened bracket play at the Cal Ripken 9-and-under Regional Tournament with a 24-6 romp over Petal, Miss. But later in the day, Meridian, Miss., ended the post-season run for the Bryant 9’s, 7-6.
The Bryant team, managed by Greg Riggs with assistance from Adam Rauth, Tim Trusty and Chris Pringle, includes Cannon Chalmers, Carson Dozier, Gunner Frazier, Austin Hastings, Cooper Hatman, Lynden Johnson, Hunter Markham, Paxton Pringle, Max Rauth, Jaxon Riggs, Drew Tate-Lee, Landon Thornton and Jackson Trusty.
Bryant 24, Petal, Miss., 6
Hastings homered, Thornton tripled, and doubles were smacked by Hastings and Riggs. Bryant blew open a 1-0 game with 10 in the top of the second.
The initial run scored when Hatman and Riggs, who had both singled with one out, worked a double steal. Riggs scored.
The bust-out second started with a single by Frazier. Though he was forced at secnd on Tate-Lee’s grounder to short, Chalmers singled and, with two down, Pringle singled in both runners.
Markham was drilled by a pitch to keep the inning going. Riggs doubled in Pringle then Hatman singled in Markham and Riggs to make it 6-0.
Dozer was hit by a pitch then Hastings singled, driving in Hatman. Frazier walked to load the bases and Tate-Lee singled to make it 8-0. Chalmers’ single drove home two to push the lead to 10-0. Trusty’s singled added a run.
Petal came through with three runs in the bottom of the second before Bryant erupted for eight more in the third.
Singles by Riggs, Hatman and Dozier produced a run. Hastings then belted his inside-the-park homer to expand the lead to 15-3.
But the inning was hardly over. Frazier singled, Tate-Lee was hit by a pitch and, with one out, so was Trusty. Frazier stole home and, after Markham was drilled by a pitch. The bases were loaded when Tate-Lee scored on a passed ball and, after a walk to Riggs, a pair of passed balls made it 19-3.
Three runs by Petal in the home third did little to slow Bryant down. The final blast by Bryant in the top of the fourth started with a walk to Johnson. A passed ball and an RBI double by Hastings made it 20-6.
Thornton’s triple added a run then he scored the final run on a Chalmers’ groundout.
The inning continued with a walk to Trusty. Rauth lined a single and Markham beat out an infield hit as Trusty scored. Rauth scored on a passed ball before Riggs singled.
Down 24-6, Petal was retired in order in the bottom of the fourth.
Meridian, Miss., 7, Bryant 6
In a seesaw battle, Bryant tied the game 6-6 in the top of the fifth, but Meridian won it in a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh. With a man on third after a double and a pair of walks, a passed ball allowed the final run to score.
Trailing 6-4, Bryant’s game-tying rally began with a single by Frazier that was misplayed in the outfield allowing him to go to second. With one out, Frazier stole third and Markham drew a walk. When Markham stole second, he drew a throw, which allowed Frazier to steal home. And when the ball got away, Markham scored as well before Riggs singled.
Riggs stole second with two away and took third on a passed ball but was stranded when the inning ended with a strikeout.
Riggs had singled with one out in the top of the first and scored on a triple by Hatman. A passed ball made it 2-0.
In the second, Tate-Lee singled and took second on a passed ball before scoring when Trusty singled.
Meridian got on the board with two runs in the home second. In turn, Bryant padded its lead when Markham tripled and scored on a single by Riggs.
Meridian tied it 4-4 with a pair of runs with two out in the bottom of the third. A two-run fourth allowed the Mississippi team to take a 6-4 lead, setting up Bryant’s comeback in the top of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, Hastings led off with a single but Bryant was unable to take advantage.
