Senior Sox get the bats going behind Davidson at Sylvan Hills
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).
By Rob Patrick
SHERWOOD — Brady Butler and Chris Joiner drove in the runs early and Caleb Garrett knocked them in late for the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team. Meanwhile, right-hander Blake Davidson shackled the Sylvan Hills Bruins throughout in a 9-4 win on Tuesday night.
And B.J Ellis got to pitch an inning.
A night after being limited to two runs on five hits at Cabot, the Sox cracked 10 hits in the victory including two each for Butler, Joiner and Garrett.
Davidson worked six innings allowing just three hits and three unearned runs while striking out 12 without a walk. Ellis, the team’s primary catcher, closed out the win in the seventh, taking the mound in a game for the first time since his Babe Ruth career ended three summers ago.
The win improved the Sox to 2-1 on the season going into a home contest against Lake Hamilton on Wednesday evening at 8.[more]
Joiner provided the first big blow for the Sox. In the top of the first, his bases-loaded single up the middle gave Bryant a 2-0 lead. Jordan Taylor had singled with one out then Hunter Mayall, who was on base four times, was hit by a pitch. Landon Pickett grounded to second and it looked like it might be an inning-ending doubleplay. But Lance Hurlee’s toss to Ty Van Schoyoc ticked off the end of the shortstop’s glove and all hands were safe.
Joiner worked the count to 3-2 against Sylvan Hills starter Corey Arnold then bounced one up the middle.
And, after Brennan Bullock walked to fill the sacks again, Butler crushed a 1-2 delivery to the fence in right-center, clearing the bases and making it 5-0.
The Bruins put up two unearned runs in the bottom of the inning when Mike Maddox reached on an error and, moments later, scored on a double into the rightfield corner by Arnold. With Austin Spears at the plate, Arnold stole second and drew a wild throw which allowed him to score the second run.
But Davidson induced a pair of infield pops to kept it 5-2.
The Sox got those two runs back in the top of the second. Mayall’s bad-hop single past third was misplayed in the outfield allowing him to race to third. But when Pickett hit a two-hopper to Geno Jamerson, the Bruins’ third sacker, Mayall broke for home and was caught in a rundown. He was tagged out as Pickett pulled into second.
Joiner then hit a pop into shallow right-center. Maddox made a long run to get there and, though he got a glove on it, couldn’t hold it. With runners at second and third and two down, Butler came through again with a solid single to left, giving him five RBI in two innings.
Josh Fortner relieved Arnold in the third and the big innings stopped. The Bruins added a run in the third when Van Schoyoc reached on a third-strike passed ball. Arnold struck out on a pitch in the dirt but the ball skipped in and appeared to hit Dylan Cross, the Bryant catcher, on the meat hand. He picked up the ball but couldn’t get the throw to first as the ball skipped into the rightfield corner. Van Schoyoc scored.
But Davidson got Spears to bounce to short for a force to keep it 7-3.
The Bruins managed a two-out double by Fortner in the fourth. Hurlee made a bid to drive him home with a long shot to right. Joiner went back for the ball but had to twist and turn then reach back to make a whirlybird grab to end the inning in spectacular fashion. Joiner went down awkwardly and laid there for a moment. Though it looked like he might be hurt, he eventually got up and showed the umpires he still had the ball.
A lead-off single by Arnold in the fifth was the only other hit against Davidson who struck out two in the fourth, two more in the fifth and three in the sixth.
The Sox tacked on a run in the fifth when, with one out, Tyler Brown’s fly to right was dropped. Brown reached second and, when the relay got away, he took third. A pitch later, Bryant coach Darren Hurt put on the suicide squeeze and Garrett got down a perfect bunt beating it out for a single without a play.
In the top of the seventh, Brown shot a single to right and Garrett tripled on a drive to the fence in right center to chase him home with the final run.
Ellis relieved in the bottom of the inning and was greeted by a single from Fortner. But he got Hurlee to ground into a doubleplay to get within an out of finishing it. But a single by Justin Cook, a walk to Maddox and, an RBI single by Van Schoyoc plated a run. And when the return throw to the infield was off target, Maddox reached third and Van Schoyoc second.
But before further damage could be done, Ellis got Arnold to fly to Bullock in left to end the game.
BRYANT 9, SYLVAN HILLS 4
Black Sox ab r h bi Bruins ab r h bi
Garrett, cf 4 0 2 2 Maddox, cf-lf 3 1 0 0
Taylor, ss 5 1 1 0 Van Schoyoc, ss-cf 4 1 1 1
Mayall, dh 2 1 1 0 Arnold, p-ss 4 1 2 1
Pickett, 3b 4 2 0 0 Spears, 1b 3 0 0 0
Hurt, 2b 0 0 0 0 Jamerson, 3b 3 0 0 0
Joiner, rf 4 2 2 2 Rasdon, rf 1 0 0 0
Bullock, lf 3 1 1 0 Lock, 2b 2 0 0 0
Butler, 1b 4 0 3 5 Sims, c 0 0 0 0
Cross, c 2 0 0 0 Fortner, ph -p 3 0 2 0
Brown, 2b-3b 4 2 1 0 Atchison, pr 0 0 0 0
Davidson, p 0 0 0 0 Hurlee, 2b-c 3 0 0 0
Ellis, p 0 0 0 0 Cook, lf-rf 3 1 1 0
Totals 32 9 10 9 Totals 29 4 6 2
BRYANT 520 010 1 — 9
Sylvan Hills 201 000 1 — 4
E—Taylor, Cross, Cook 2, Lock, Davidson, Bullock. DP—Bryant 1. LOB—Bryant 9, Sylvan Hills 5. 2B—Joiner, Butler, Arnold, Fortner. 3B—Garrett. SB—Arnold, Mayall.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
Bryant
Davidson (W) 6 3 0 3 0 12
Ellis 1 1 1 3 1 0
Sylvan Hills
Arnold (L) 2 7 6 5 2 3
Fortner 5 2 2 4 2 3
HBP—Mayall, Garrett (by Arnold). WP—Arnold 2, Ellis.
Jordan AJF8
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