Pitching key to Hornets’ 16th consecutive win
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Photos courtesy of Madison McEntire
LITTLE ROCK — The pitching was excellent for the Bryant Hornets on Monday night and it needed to be. Despite racking up nine hits, the Hornets only scratched out two runs. With Logan Grant, Austin Ledbetter and Coby Greiner combining on a two-hit shutout, however, that was enough for the top-ranked Hornets to get past the Little Rock Central Tigers, 2-0, at Buddy Coleman Field.
It was Bryant’s 16thwin in a row and improved them to 24-2 overall and 10-0 in 6A-Central Conference play going into a non-conference battle with the rival Benton Panthers on Thursday and a league battle at Cabot on Friday followed by a conference showdown at second-place Little Rock Catholic at noon on Saturday.
“It wasn’t exactly how I wanted it to be done but a win in this part of the season is huge,” said Hornets coach Travis Queck. “I think this four-day weekend and testing is all done, I think we’ll get back on schedule tomorrow and get after it in practice.”
Grant worked the first four innings for the Hornets and pitched in and out of trouble. His teammates gave him a 1-0 lead in the first on doubles by Noah Davis and Cade Drennan.
In the home half, Grant hit Javii Goins Jr., to start. Ty Barrett followed with a sacrificed bunt that was mishandled allowing runners on first and second. Goins tagged and went to third when Paden Chrisman flew out to Coby Greiner in deep center. Barrett stole second to get both runners in scoring position.
But Grant fanned C.J. Price and got Garrett Hatfield to ground out to Logan Chambers at short to keep the Tigers off the board.
In the second, singles by Gage Stark and Greiner came to naught for the Hornets. In the home half, Mason Gresham cracked Central’s first hit a double to left. But Grant came back to strike out Joey McCracken and Jae Kim to strand the base-runner.
Davis drew a lead-off walk from Chrisman, the Central starter, in the top of the third. Ledbetter sacrificed him to second and, after Drennan drew a walk, Jake Wright singled to left-center to plate the second run.
Lawson Speer, running for Drennan, and Wright worked a double steal to get runners at second and third, but Chrisman fanned the next two batters to keep it 2-0.
Goins Jr. opened the bottom of the third with a double off the fence in left-center. But he had to stay there as Barrett’s bunt was popped up just enough. Grant caught it on one hop and threw to Davis covering first from second for the out.
Moments later, Grant whirled and picked off Goins Jr., who was thrown out when he took off for third. Chrisman grounded out to Chambers to end that inning.
Jacob Evans-Funk took over on the mound for Central in the fourth. He retired the first two then Chambers doubled to right and Davis worked another walk. Ball four was a wild pitch allowing Chambers to take third so Davis stole second. But both were stranded as Evans-Funk escaped further damage.
“It was like every other guy,” said Queck. “Every time I looked up, it was like lead-off gets out, a double, flyball, single — and you’re sitting there thinking, ‘Okay, now we’re first and third’ and it’s like, ‘How do we get a run in with two outs?’ Somebody’s going to have to step up or we’re going to have to force it. I didn’t like the situations we had when we could force it. We just need guys to step up.
“We’ve got to do a better job offensively, understanding our roles and executing our roles,” he added.
In the bottom of the fourth, Price was hit by a 3-2 delivery from Grant. Garrett Hatfield sacrificed him to second but when Price tried to steal third, Drennan gunned him down for the second out of the inning.
Holton Moore walked but Grant got the final out when Gresham flew to Stark in right.
“LG got some big-time outs in some really stressful situations,” Queck noted.
The Hornets got their lead-off aboard in the fifth and sixth as Drennan then Peyton Dillon singled. In the seventh, Wright doubled but was stranded.
But Ledbetter relieved in the fifth and set down all six batters he faced over the next two innings, three of them on strikes. Greiner hit a batter with one out in the seventh but struck out Gresham and ended it by getting Joey McCracken to fly to Stark in right.
