Shurtleff, Sox blank Prospects Perrin at Classic
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).
SPRINGDALE — Alex Shurtleff fired a three-hit shutout as the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team improved to 2-0 in their pool at the Chad Wolff Classic in northwest Arkansas. The 4-0 win came against Prospects Perrin at Arvest Park, the home of the Kansas City Royals’ minor league affiliate Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
Earlier in the day, the Junior Black Sox team lost to PT15 Blue, 9-0, at Prairie Grove High School. They play twice on Saturday. At 11:30 a.m., they take on the Southern A’s at Fayetteville High School. At 4:30 p.m., they take on PT15 Red back at Prairie Grove.
Overall, it was the Senior Sox’ seventh consecutive victory. They’ll try to make it eight in a row on Saturday when they play YBC at Shiloh Christian High School at 7 p.m.
Shurtleff, struck out six, hit a batter and walked just one in seven innings. He was backed by errorless defense.
The game was scoreless through four innings. Shurtleff pitched around a two-out single in the second then a hit batsman and a walk in the third. After that, he retired 14 of the last 16 he faced, surrendering only a lead-off single in the fifth and a one-out single in the seventh.
The Sox had runners aboard in each of the first four frames but couldn’t dent the plate. In the first, Jake East walked and Logan Allen singled with one out but were stranded. In the second, Aaron Orender reached base on an error but was left aboard. The third inning brought singles from Seth Tucker and Allen to no avail.
Orender was struck by a pitch to start the fourth but was picked off before Scott Schmidt and Myers Buck stroked singles.
Finally, in the top of the fifth, East doubled and, with one out, walks were issued to Dylan Hurt and Logan Catton. Orender singled to center to get East home then Coby Greiner, as a courtesy runner for Hurt, the Bryant catcher, hustled home on a passed ball to make it 2-0.
In the sixth, Grayson Prince was struck by a pitch but was out trying to steal before Tucker was plunked as well. On a passed ball, Tucker raced all the way to third as East was drawing a walk. But they were left on base as Perrin escaped further damage.
But only temporarily. The Sox added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh. They loaded the bases on a single by Brandon Hoover and walks to Orender and Schmidt. After a pitching change, Buck came through with a sacrifice fly and Logan Chambers got a bunt down on a squeeze play, knocking in Orender to make it 4-0.
