Photos courtesy of Sandy Orender
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — Absorbing a 5-1 loss to the Game On Stealth in their third pool play game on Saturday at the East Cobb, Ga., Perfect Game Invitational Tournament, the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team wound up in the consolation bracket. They’re set to play Hustle Baseball on Sunday at 2 p.m.
A trio of pitchers, Parker Dean, Sean Oscola and Tyler Simon held the Sox to a run on four hits. Aaron Orender had two of the Bryant singles.
Bryant broke out to a 1-0 lead in the opening inning. Seth Tucker walked and Dylan Hurt singled him to third. Logan Allen then lined a single to right to chase in the first run. But, trying to get to third, Hurt was thrown out. Allen stole second but was stranded.
Tucker started on the mound for the Sox and worked around a lead-off walk in the bottom of the first, with Hurt, Bryant’s catcher, throwing out the runner trying to steal.
In the top of the second, Alex Shurtleff was hit by the second pitch of the frame. He advanced to second on Scott Schmidt’s grounder to second then Orender walked. But the Stealth turned a doubleplay to keep it 1-0.
Tucker worked around a two-out single in the bottom of the second by Malik Spratling, who went 3 for 3 in the game with five runs batted in. The Bryant right-hander ended the inning with a strikeout of Spencer Hanson.
In turn, Dean pitched around a one-out error that allowed Hurt to get aboard and, later, a balk that moved Hurt to second.
In the bottom of the third, all Game On could muster was a two-out walk.
Schmidt drew a two-out walk in the top of the fourth and Orender cracked his first single but Dean escaped.
Justin Kelley blooped a single to center to start the home fourth. T.J. Reeves worked a walk then Tucker got Jacob Holton to tap back to the mound. He got an out at third then struck out Dillon Sullivan. A pitch later, however, Spratling doubled in two, putting the Stealth ahead, 2-1.
Osceola opened the fifth with a walk of Tucker but retired the next three. In the home half, Tucker pitched around a double and a walk to keep it a one-run game.
But after the Sox were retired in order in the top of the sixth, a one-out double by Holton and a walk to Sullivan set up the game-breaking blow, a three-run homer by Spratling to make it 5-1.
Boston Heil relieved for the Sox and got Hanson to bounce out to Schmidt at second before ending the inning with a strikeout.
Bryant was down to its last three outs, however. Orender provided some hope with a lead-off single literally off Simon. But the Stealth hurler came back to set down the next three to close out the victory.
