For the Bryant Sport Shop Black Sox, it was C.J. Wallace. For the Hot Springs Trojans AA American Legion team, it was Ethan O’Riley.
In a night full of scoring, it was O’Riley in the first game and Wallace in the second who cooled down the hot bats of the opposing teams. O’Riley, on in relief of starter Korey Wasson, shut out the Black Sox for three innings, repeatedly working out of jams as the Trojans came from behind for a 16-8 victory. Wallace came up with three shutout frames after a rocky start in the nightcap as the Sox rallied to an 8-4 win and a split of the double-dip.
The results left the Sport Shop Sox 2-1 on the season going into a home doubleheader on Friday against Jonesboro.
Hot Springs scored a pair of unearned runs in the first inning and, after the Sox tied it, added a pair of tallies in the top of the second. But, after Bryant scored four times in the home second, Wallace settled in and shut out the Trojans on one hit through the fifth as his teammates tacked on to build the 8-4 lead. Noah Easterling closed it out with a pair of shutout innings of relief.
In the first contest, Drew Brown was cruising on the mound through three innings, allowing one unearned run and two hits as the Black Sox built a 7-1 lead. But Hot Springs began to whittle on that advantage in the fourth, scoring three times. Two more came in in the fifth to cut it to 7-6. After that, the Trojans took advantage of some defensive breakdowns by the Sox to score five in the sixth and five more in the seventh on eight hits to produce the lopsided final score.
Bryant 8, Hot Springs 4
After hitting a batter to force in a run in the top of the second, Wallace and the Bryant defense retired 10 of the next 11 batters. The lone base-runner during that stretch came on a one-out single by Walker Glisson in the top of the fourth. Wallace fanned six and walked two over his five innings of work. Easterling fanned five in two innings, pitching around a single and a walk in each of his two frames.
Offensively, Joey Cates and Hunter Oglesby each had two hits. Christain Harp drove in a pair of runs.
Hot Springs grabbed the 2-0 lead with a pair of hits and a pair of errors in the top of the first. In the home half, Cates walked, Oglesby beat out an infield hit and, after both moved up on a wild pitch, Caleb Chaffin walked to load the bases. Harp picked up an RBI with a grounder to first then another wild pitch allowed Oglesby to score the tying run.
Wallace struggled a bit with his control in the top of the second, issuing both of his walks along with a pair of hits and the hit batsman as Hot Springs regained the lead 4-2.
But an error opened the floodgates for Bryant in the bottom of the inning. Diego Vargas reached base on the miscue then Cates shot a single past the first baseman to send Vargas to third. Cates stole second and when the throw was misplayed, he went on to third as Vargas scored.
Oglesby was robbed of a hit on a lunging catch of his liner by Hot Springs second sacker Zac Rednour but Chaffin ripped a single to left and, after he advanced on a wild pitch, Harp singled. When Harp rounded first and started for second, he drew a throw from the Hot Springs catcher Brandon Stovall. In turn, Chaffin alertly headed for home and beat the return peg to give the Black Sox a 5-4 lead.
Harp moved to third when Daniel Darbonne reached on an error then scored on a wild pitch as Brandon Hoover was working a walk.
Wallace needed just nine pitches to retire the Trojans in order in the third and, in turn, the Sox added a run in the home half. Vargas walked, Cates singled and, after Oglesby hit into a force at second, Vargas scored when Oglesby broke early from first on a steal. Wasson started to run at Oglesby then Vargas headed home. The pitcher whirled to throw home but overthrew Stovall.
Wallace fanned two as he worked around Glisson’s single in the top of the fourth then the Sox picked up one more insurance run in the bottom of the fourth. Darbonne walked, went to third on a wild pitch. With two down, Grayson Prince walked. With Ethan Thompson at the plate, Stovall tried to pick off Darbonne with a throw to third. Darbonne took off for the plate and scored when the return throw was errant, making it 8-4.
Wallace worked a 1-2-3 fifth then Hot Springs subbed at every position. The Trojans actually batted out of order with all of the retooling but Easterling closed it out nonetheless.
Hot Springs 16, Bryant 8
Six errors undermined the Sox in the second game with each contributing to Hot Springs’ scoring. The first came in the opening inning as the Trojans took a 1-0 lead.
Against Wasson, who started on the mound in both games, the Sox erupted for four runs in the home half. Oglesby drew a one-out walk and advanced on a wild pitch. Chaffin singled him to third then another wild pitch allowed him to score. Harp walked and Prince beat out a bunt for a hit to load the bases. A walk to Darbonne forced in a run.
Matthew Sandidge followed with a grounder to short. O’Riley’s throw to second for a force was too late as Darbonne slid into the bag. Then the relay to first was wild and both Harp and Prince scored to make it 4-1.
Brown retired seven in a row from the end of the first to the end of the third. He was aided by a pair of sparkling defensive plays by Harp at third and Chaffin at first, respectively.
In the home third, Harp led off with a bloop single to right and, with one out, Prince walked. Darbonne beat out a bunt for a hit, loading the bases for Sandidge who drew an RBI walk that finished the mound work of Wasson in the first game after 61 pitches. Incredibly, he threw 125 more as the starter in the second game.
O’Riley faced Brown with the bags jammed. Brown hit a roller to first where Glisson got the out then tried to throw home to double up Prince. But the throw was late and wild. Not only did Prince score but so did Darbonne, making it 7-1.
After that, however, O’Riley got out of a first-and-third, one-out jam. He pitched around singles by Chaffin and Sandidge along with a walk to Prince in the fourth. In the fifth, Cates and Oglesby singled and in the sixth, Harp smacked a lead-off hit.
The top four in Bryant’s lineup, Cates, Oglesby, Chaffin and Harp each had two hits.
Hot Springs started its comeback with doubles by Wasson and Stovall and singles by Jarrett Austin and Rednour, cutting the lead to 7-4.
A trio of walks produced a run in the fifth before Myers Buck, on in relief of Brown, picked off a runner at third for the second out. But Austin doubled to make it 7-6 before Buck ended the uprising forcing Hot Springs to strand two.
In the sixth, a one-out walk to Max Harris and singles by Rosburg and O’Riley had the bases loaded. Buck induced a tap to third by Wasson and the Sox appeared to have a big out on a throw to the plate but it was mishandled and two runs scored. Stovall followed with a two-run single then an error allowed the fifth run of the frame, making it 11-7.
Five hits and two errors led to five more Hot Springs runs in the top of the seventh. In the home half, the Sox didn’t go quietly. Cates singled with two down, took second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on an errant throw.
