Senior Sox bounce back for first tourney win
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).
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — After being stifled through their first seven innings at the East Cobb-Perfect Game Invitational on Thursday, the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team couldn’t get much going in the first two frames of their second pool play contest against the Nelson Baseball School team on Friday.
But, in the third, the Sox’ bats came to life to the tune of a six-run outburst that spurred them on to a 10-2 win.
Now 1-1 in pool play, the Sox will try to reach bracket play when they finish up pool play on Saturday at 11:45 a.m., against Game On Stealth.
Bryant still managed just four hits but Nelson pitchers walked six, hit a batter and had a couple of miscues behind them.
The game-breaking third began with Jake East reaching on an error by the Nelson shortstop. Seth Tucker got a sacrifice bunt down and, when it was misplayed, there were runners on first and second for Dylan Hurt. A wild pitch allowed runners to move to second and third. Hurt singled in East then Logan Allen belted a double to chase in Tucker to make it 2-0.
Logan Chambers lashed a double to left, plating Hurt and Allen then Wright walked.
After a pitching change and a strikeout, Scott Schmidt got a run in with a groundout and a passed ball allowed Wright to score, making it 6-0.
East, who started the game on the mound for the Sox, fanned two and induced a popout as he breezed through the bottom of the third.
And Bryant’s offense went back at it. East and Tucker drew walks to open the fourth. A wild pitch allowed them to pick up a base and East scored on a grounder to third by Hurt. Allen singled in Tucker to make it 8-0.
Allen took third on a wild pitch as Chambers worked a walk. Wright then picked up an RBI with a groundout to first.
Down by 9, Nelson got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. East fanned the first two batters but back-to-back doubles got a run in. A single made it 9-2.
Christian Harp was called on to relieve and promptly brought the inning to a close by inducing a groundout to Tucker at third.
The Sox got one of those runs back in the top of the fifth when Schmidt was hit by a pitch, took second on Aaron Orender’s grounder to the right side, took third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by East.
With the run-rule in effect, Harp pitched around a pair of singles in the bottom of the fifth, ending it by inducing a fly to Matthew Sandidge in right.
