Senior Black Sox break through for 6-1 league win over Continental
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting 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).
LITTLE ROCK — With Jordan Taylor and Brennan Bullock providing the breakout first pair, the Bryant Black Sox rediscovered hitting in the clutch on Wednesday night.
And it was just in time for their Zone 4 showdown with Little Rock Continental Express.[more]
The Sox scored three runs early and three more late highlighted by Brady Butler’s solo homer in support of Blake Davidson’s four-hit pitching for a 6-1 win that snapped a four-game losing streak. Bryant improved to 2-0 in league play with a non-conference doubleheader at Monticello on the schedule for Monday, June 14.
The Sox hadn’t been having a lot of trouble getting runners on base during their brief slump and Wednesday was no different. In the opening inning, Caleb Garrett reached on a one-out error and stole second, drawing an errant throw that allowed him to take third. Hunter Mayall was then hit by a pitch.
It was at that point that recent trends were reversed when Taylor shot a single up the middle to chase home Garrett. And, with two down, Bullock pulled a drive to the fence in left for an RBI double to make it 2-0.
Continental picked up its lone run in the bottom of the inning on a walk, a single and a passed ball.
With the potential tying run on second and lead run on first and one out, Davidson got a strikeout then induced a pop to first to end the uprising.
The Sox got that run right back in the top of the second and they did it all with two out. A little help from Continental didn’t hurt. Chris Joiner’s double into the left-field corner got things going. Garrett singled him to third and when Mayall reached on an error, Joiner scored.
Davidson would issue a two-out walk in the bottom of the second but he picked the runner off with the top of the batting order due up. He worked around another two-out walk in the third then worked a 1-2-3 fourth.
The Sox continued to get runners on base, meanwhile. In the third, Butler singled, stole second and took third on a wild pitch but, with one out, he was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to second by Landon Pickett. Dylan Cross walked but the Express got out of the inning with a force.
In the fourth, Mayall was hit by a pitch again then Taylor and Butler singled. Mayall tried to score on Butler’s hit to left but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
In the fifth, however, Cross reached on an two-out error, took second on a single by Tyler Brown and stole third. Brown then left early at first and got picked but stayed in the rundown long enough for Cross to score.
Trailing 4-1, Continental made its last serious bid to score in the home fifth with a pair of lead-off singles to put runners at first and second with no one out. But Davidson got a strikeout then induced a pop to second that Joiner turned into a doubleplay.
The Truckers managed just one other baserunner the rest of the way on a one-out single in the sixth.
The Sox put the finishing touches on the win in the top of the seventh with Butler clubbing his one-out shot. Bullock was hit by a pitch and stole second. Pickett flew out to right and Bullock advanced to third. He then scored when Cross reached on an errant throw to first.
Davidson closed it out with a flurry picking up his sixth and seventh strikeouts at the end.
