Senior Sox capture wins in first two games at Omaha
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OMAHA, Neb. — The Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team ran its overall record to 16-0 with a pair of wins on Thursday to open pool play at the annual 19-and-under Battle of Omaha, held in conjunction with the College World Series.
Right-hander Harrison Dale held the Boise, Idaho, Senators to a run on four hits in the first game, a 5-1 win. In the second, the Sox overcame a 3-2 deficit after two innings to pin a 6-3 loss on the Castle View Sabercats of Castle Rock, Colo.
The Sox are set to continue play against 115’s baseball of Loveland, Colo., in a crossover game today at 3:30 p.m. Pool play will commence once again on Saturday against a team from Milwaukee, Wis., and one of the host teams, Omaha Burke. Those games were originally scheduled for 1 and 3:30 p.m., respectively.
Bryant 5, Boise 1
Dalton Holt and Brandan Warner each had three hits while Trevor Ezell, Blake Patterson and Korey Thompson added two each.
Dale pitched shutout ball through five innings. He wound up with one walk and four strikeouts.
It was a scoreless game through three innings. With two out in the fourth, Holt drilled a double to left field and Warner singled him in with a shot up the middle. The Sox gave Dale a little breathing room in the top of the fifth. Ezell singled, went to second on a passed ball and then third when Drew Tipton beat out a bunt single. Patterson cracked an RBI knock to right, sending Tipton to third, and Hayden Lessenberry worked a walk to load the bases for Chase Tucker who yanked a single into left to drive in Tipton and Patterson. That made it 4-0.
In the sixth, Warner singled and Korey Thompson sacrificed him to second. Ezell hit the ball to the right side to advance the runner to third. Tipton reached on an error as Warner held at third then Patterson came through with a two-out RBI single.
Dale had worked around a walk in the first and a lead-off single in the second. Both runners were stranded at third. He then retired the next 12 out of 13 batters interrupted only by a two-out double in the fourth.
In the fifth, Boise’s Matt Woodley was hit by a pitch and stole second. Joel Perry walked but was forced at second when Montana Bilger grounded to Holt at first. With Woodley at third, Shane Layman singled to left to drive in the run.
Holt, Warner and Thompson cracked consecutive two out singles in the top of the seventh but were stranded. In the home half, Dale pitched around a lead-off single by Perrin McCluskey to close out the win.
Bryant 6, Castle View 3
Tipton had three hits and Ezell drilled a two-run homer as the Sox took advantage of eight walks and hit batsman.
Four pitchers got work in the game for Bryant with all three of the Sabercats’ runs coming in the second inning. Nate Rutherford, the second Sox hurler got the win in relief of Evan Lee. Patterson pitched two frames after Rutherford and Zach Jackson threw a scoreless seventh.
The quartet combined to allow just five hits while striking out 12 batters.
The Sox took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Ezell was hit by a pitch and Tipton singled to left. Patterson bounced into a force that retired Tipton as Ezell took third. He would score on Tucker’s groundout then consecutive walked to Lee, Holt and Warner forced in the second run.
In the top of the inning, Lee had hit a batter and walked one but he wound up picking off the runner at first then fanning the next two. In the second, a lead-off single and a pair of walks loaded the bases. The lefty appeared to be on his way out of the jam when he fanned the next two but the Castle View lead-off man doubled to clear the bases, making it 3-2.
Lee recorded his fifth strikeout to end it there. Rutherford took over in the third and worked around a one-out double. Holt reached on an error in the home half but was stranded.
A one-out error allowed a runner for the Sabercats in the fourth but Rutherford struck out two and got the final out on a bouncer to first to keep it 3-2.
In turn, the Sox grabbed the lead, scoring three in the home fourth. Thompson drew a one-out walk to get things started. Ezell then blasted his homer to center to give Bryant the lead. Tipton lashed a double and took third on Patterson’s groundout. After Tucker walked, the duo worked a double steal to plate the third run.
Patterson pitched a 1-2-3 fifth and the Sox tacked on a final tally when Holt was hit by a pitch, Warner walked, Dale beat out a bunt and Thompson squeezed in the run.
Bryant turned a doubleplay to erase a base-runner in the sixth and, in the seventh, a lead-off single went for naught as Jackson fanned the next two and ended it by inducing a grounder to Ezell at short.
