On Monday, May 13, Stroud Aviation rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth and threw[more] out the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the inning to edge the Action Sports Pix A’s, 6-5. The A’s bounced back on Tuesday to build a big lead early on the way to a 9-6 win over Rich Logistics in Bryant Athletic Association Rookie League action at Bishop Park.
Action Sports Pix 9, Rich Logistics 6
Gage Horn went 3 for 3 to lead the A’s to victory. C.J. Nagle, Lee Eskridge, Colson Billingsley and Landen Kuhn added two hits apiece.
For Rich Logistics, Logan Owen went 3 for 3. Reid Catton, Jordan Knox, Mason Butler and Tucker Everett picked up two hits each.
Rich took a 2-0 lead in the first when Knox tripled and Owen singled him home. Owen stole second and came around on a throwing error.
The A’s answer in the bottom of the inning began with a single by Nagle and a triple by Horn. Jayden Everett picked up an RBI with a grounder to second tying the game. Braxton Fischer got things going again with a grounder up the middle for a single. Dakota Bunt’s infield hit set up Tristan Shamlin who singled in Fischer. Bunt stole third and scored on a knock by Mason Dougherty to make it 4-2.
Despite hits by Butler and Tucker Everett, Rich Logistics was unable to counter in the top of the second so when ASP scored four more in the bottom of the inning, it created a commanding lead.
The A’s second commenced when Eskridge and Billingsley singled. Both advanced on an errant throw setting the table for Kuhn’s RBI hit. Billingsley scored on Nagle’s grounder to short then Kuhn came home on a double by Luke Bickerstaff. Horn capped the inning with a two-bagger, making it 8-2.
Rich Logistics went to work trimming on that advantage in the top of the third. Martinez doubled, Catton singled and Knox picked up an RBI with a groundout to short. Owen singled in Catton to make it 8-4 but, despite a base hit by Ryan Murillo, that’s all they could get.
And it stayed 8-4 until the bottom of the fifth when the A’s tacked on a run on a triple by Horn that drove in Nagle, who had singled.
In the home sixth, Rich rallied for two more runs. Owen and Reece Rowland cracked triples and Butler drove in a run with a grounder to third. Tucker Everett doubled but was stranded as ASP recorded the final out.
Stroud Aviation 6, ASP 5
J.C. Calicott, Dylan Stroud and Brady Brower each had two hits to lead Stroud Aviation to victory. Justin Mitchem drove in three runs.
Horn had three hits including a three-run homer for the A’s. Jayden Everett added a pair of hits.
The A’s led for most of the game after scoring three times in the first. Singles by Nagle and Everett preceded Horn’s inside-the-park homer.
It stayed 3-0 until ASP added another run in the fourth on a triple by Horn, who stole home before Fischer singled.
SA came alive in the fifth, trimming the margin to 4-3. Dylan Stroud led off the inning with a single. With one out, Blake Ammons beat out an infield hit then so did Ashton Thompson, loading the bases. With two out, Mitchem cleared the bases with a triple to right.
ASP retained the lead by forcing Stroud to strand Mitchem at third.
And the A’s expanded the lead by a run in the bottom of the inning on singles by Shamlin, Dougherty and Kuhn.
The tale-tell rally in the top of the sixth began with a triple from Kaylyn Faust. When Aiden Hughes beat out an infield hit, Faust held at third but Calicott singled in the run to make it 5-4. With one out, Stroud singled to load the bases and Brower knocked in the tying run.
The A’s cut off a run when Blake Ammons grounded to short and Bunt’s throw home forced Calicott. But, moments later, Ashton Thompson hit a grounder to third and Stroud beat the throw to the plate, scoring what turned out to be the winning run.
Action Sports Pix had a final chance in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, a single by Bickerstaff and a stolen base put the tying run in scoring position. Horn followed with a shot to center but Stroud Aviation relayed the throw home in time for the tag on Bickerstaff at the plate.
Though Horn wound up at third, the A’s were unable to get him home as Stroud Aviation held on for the win.
