Senior Sox get another split on day two of Fayetteville’s jamboree
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).
FAYETTEVILLE — After splitting the first two games on Saturday in a jamboree hosted by the Fayetteville Senior American Legion team, the Bryant Black Sox split the last two on Sunday as well. They out-slugged a stacked Texarkana, Texas team then had a 3-0 lead disappear in the second as Bartlesville, Okla., avenged a 7-2 loss on Saturday with a 6-3 win.
The results made the Sox 8-2 on the season heading to the annual Twin Lakes Classic in Mountain Home on Wednesday when they’ll open against Harrison.
“We played four games in 24 hours against Regional-type competition and went 2-2,” noted Sox manager Craig Harrison. “Two bunt plays and we might be 4-0.”
Miscues on a bunt play on Saturday cost the Sox in a 7-3 loss to Fayetteville and another on Sunday was a big factor in the loss to Bartlesville.
“But that’s baseball,” Harrison said. “It was a good trip and we learned a lot about our players, and I think our players learned a lot about (assistant coach) Tic (Harrison) and me, as far as how we want them to approach each at bat, each inning. We don’t practice much so the games are our teaching experience. We have good effort, but we need to get a little better in some of the execution phases of the game.
“Overall, we have a good team that will get better playing good competition like we did this weekend,” he added. “Now, we set our sight on Mountain Home and the big trophy that we won in 2006 and ’07.”[more]
In the wrap-up game against Bartlesville, Austin Queck made his first start of the season and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning when Bartlesville managed a two-out double.
At that point, the Sox had built a 3-0 lead. The first run came in the bottom of the opening inning when Justin Blankenship walked, Caleb Garrett drilled a double to the gap in left-center and Tyler Sawyer delivered a sacrifice fly.
After Queck worked around a pair of errors in the top of the third, Bryant tacked on a pair runs with Blankenship again getting the offense started with a lead-off walk. This time, Garrett blasted his first home run ever to make it 3-0.
The inning continued with a single by Brady Butler and a walk to Trent Daniel. Ben Wells singled to load the bases with one out.
“I held Butler (at third),” Harrison noted, “but probably should have tried to score him.”
As it turned out, all three baserunners were stranded as the Bartlesville pitcher rebounded with a pair of strikeouts.
After a scoreless fourth, Bartlesville broke through in the fifth despite being at the bottom of its order. The first batter was hit by a pitch. What might’ve been a doubleplay ball was booted to put runners at first and second. The next batter squared to sacrifice. His bunt was hard between third and the mound and Queck got to it with is momentum headed toward third. His flip to the bag in an attempt to retire the lead runner was high, however, and all hands were safe with the top of the order coming up.
A run scored on a force at second to trim the lead to 3-1 and Harrison brought on Kaleb Jobe to relieve.
“Austin was on his third time through the order,” he explained. “I brought in Jobe, who was sitting out the game for relief purposes but the decision backfired.”
A double and a sacrifice fly had the game tied at 3 before Jobe could get out of the inning.
“Little mistakes cost us,” Harrison acknowledged. “Queck did a great job of keeping them off balance and pitched a good game.”
In the top of the sixth, a single and a home run snapped the tie. A walk, a wild pitch and a base hit gave Bartlesville a 6-3 lead.
“They brought in their closer and we went down six in a row with three strikeouts to end the game,” Harrison recounted.
Jobe had gotten the save in the opener in relief of Sawyer who was victimized by his team’s defensive breakdowns. Of the nine runs he allowed only two were earned over six innings. He fanned four, walked no one and surrendered 14 hits.
“It was a really strange game, but we fought all the way to get a second quality win in two days,” Harrison commented. “Texarkana had several college players that they picked up for the weekend. The Texas High School playoffs are still going on and, rather than canceling, they picked up several players from Texarkana Junior College and one from Angelina Junior College. It was good competition for us, especially to face a college freshman team practically. And we came out on top.”
The Sox jumped to a 3-0 lead in the opening frame. Blankenship led off the game with a walk, Garrett singled to right and, after a wild pitch moved them to second and third, Sawyer plated a run with a sacrifice fly. And when the center fielder and left fielder collided under the ball, it dropped allowing Garrett to score as well. Sawyer wound up on third and scored on Jobe’s sac fly.
A pair of singled and an outfield error loaded the bases for Texarkana in the bottom of the inning. A doubleplay followed with a run scoring then a passed ball made it 3-2.
It stayed that way until the third when Garrett drew a lead-off pass. And, when he attempted to steal, a balk was called on a pickoff throw to first. When the throw was wild, the Sox took the result of the play as Garrett raced to third. Sawyer’s sacrifice fly bumped the lead to 4-2 then Butler drilled a homer to left to make it a three-run lead again.
Texarkana got a run back in the bottom of the inning. A pair of lead-off singles were followed by a bunt that Sawyer pounced on. His throw to Jonathan Wade at third got the force which proved to be a big play when the next batter singled but only drove in one, cutting the lead to 5-3.
The Sox answered with three more in the top of the fourth. Wade drew a walk and Ellis’ got a bunt down that was placed so well he got a hit out of it. When Austin Benning was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded for Blankenship who singled in a run. Garrett bounced into a force at the plate but Sawyer came through with yet another sacrifice fly to make it 7-3. And when Blankenship tagged and took off for third on the play an errant throw to try to nab him allowed him to score as well.
A pair of singles and a drag bunt for a hit that drew a wild throw allowed Texarkana to trim a run off the margin but Sawyer forced them to leave the sacks jammed.
Thanks to a doubleplay turned by Jobe at short, Sawyer and the Sox were an out away from getting through the fifth with their 8-4 lead but a single, a double and an error followed. Another base hit, another error and a single produced an 8-8 tie. All four runs in the inning were unearned.
Again, Bryant answered, however. In the top of the sixth, Blankenship ripped a one-out double. With two down, Sawyer singled him home to snap the tie. Jobe blooped a single to left to set the table for Butler whose gap shot to the wall in left-center drove in both runners to make it 11-8.
Sawyer was again an out away from getting through the bottom of the sixth unscathed when a single and an error produced a run. On a late throw to the plate, Ellis, the catcher, relayed to third to nail the trail runner and end the inning.
A base-running miscue and a disputed call cost the Sox a chance to add to the lead in the top of the seventh but when Jobe worked a 1-2-3 home half of the inning, it was mute point.
Blankenship and Butler each had three hits in the game. Sawyer was 2-for-2 with three sacrifice flies and four runs batted in.
