Senior Black Sox advance to Hagan bracket play after tie game
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting 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).
MEMPHIS — Despite having a game rained out and their final pool play contest ending in a tie, the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team has advanced to bracket play at the annual Keith Hagan Memorial All-American Classic.
The Sox will play an opponent to be determined on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., as the rain-
Bryant battled the Memphis Tigers to a 2-2 tie over seven innings and, in typical showcase fashion, that’s where it ended on Monday.
Bryant is now 23-5-1 overall this season.
Peyton Dillon got five innings of work in against Memphis, allowing two runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Will McEntire pitched a scoreless sixth and Coby Greiner struck out the side around a base hit in the seventh.
Offensively, the Sox accumulated six hits including two apiece by Logan Catton and Logan Chambers. Cade Drennan and Matthew Sandidge each singled as well.
The Sox scored their two runs in the top of the first inning. Chambers singled to center on the second pitch of the contest. Jake Wright followed with a walk.
Drennan hit a grounder to short and, when the ball was thrown away, Chambers scored, and Wright went to third at Drennan reached second.
With one out, Myers Buck hit a grounder to third. Drennan was tagged out but Wright scored as Buck beat the rap at first.
Dillon pitched around a two-out single in the bottom of the inning and, in the second, Catton singled with one out then advanced to third on a wild pickoff throw. Greiner hit a fly to right and Catton tried to tag and score but was thrown out at the plate to keep it 2-0.
The Sox turned a conventional doubleplay in the home second to erase a one-out bunt single. In turn, Chambers and Drennan had hits in the top of the third but they were stranded at second and third.
Both teams were retired in order with Dillon fanning two in the bottom of the third. In the home fourth, he issued a two-out walk and surrendered a single to center but got out of the jam with a grounder to Konner Clontz at second.
The Sox were retired 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth then Dillon opened the bottom of the inning with a strikeout. A double followed but Dillon threw the next batter out on a comebacker.
On 1-1 count an RBI single made it 2-1 with the batter advancing to second on the late throw to the plate. Another double tied it before Chambers hauled down an infield pop at short to end the inning.
Though Bryant got nothing going in the top of the sixth, Memphis put together a single, a stolen base and intentional walk only to have McEntire retire the side with two strikeouts and a fly to Buck in right.
The Sox made a bid to snap the tie in the top of the seventh. Sandidge singled and took second on a sacrifice by Clontz. Catton beat out a bunt hit, sending Sandidge to third. But a strikeout and a foul out followed, and the game remained deadlocked.
Greiner finished the game.
