SHERIDAN — The Sport Shop Black Sox of Bryant rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh for a walk-off win over Malvern National Bank to open play in the Zone 4 AA American Legion District Tournament on Saturday, July 19.
They then ran into eventual Zone champion Sheridan that evening and absorbed a 6-1 loss. Still, they were within a win of qualifying for the AA State tournament in Harrison but they were denied on Sunday when Hot Springs Village’s Mark Rucker pitched a six-hit shutout to end the Sport Shop season, 5-0.
In the victory, the Sox trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh. But Joey Cates led off with a walk, stole second and took third on a bad throw. Caleb Chaffin singled him in with the tying run. Walks to Beaux Bonvillain and Daniel Darbonne loaded the bases then a passed ball allowed Chaffin to score the game-winner.
Cates went the distance on the mound, scattering five hits. He walked four, hit two and struck out five.
Malvern took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Britten Russell walked with one out then J.J. Johnson and Elliot Colon were hit by pitches. Jessie Collie singled in the run but Cates forced the Bankers to strand the bases loaded with a strikeout.
Bryant tied it in the bottom of the fourth when Dylan Hurt and Weston Jones drew walks, Hunter Oglesby sacrificed them to second and third, and Cates delivered a sacrifice fly to right.
Cates worked around a two-out single in the fifth but, in the sixth, Malvern managed to regain the lead. Johnson walked, Dillon Bray and Collie singled.
The Sox were retired in order in the fifth then were unable to take advantage of Dakota Besancon’s lead-off single in the sixth.
Cates issued a one-out walk in the top of the seventh but Hurt threw the runner out trying to steal. Cates sent it to the bottom of the inning with another strikeout.
In the loss to Sheridan, the Sox were held hitless by collegian Joey Eggburn through six innings. The Yellowjackets took a 2-0 lead in the second, added a pair in the third, another in the fourth and one in the top of the seventh.
Bryant broke through in the bottom of the seventh when Hurt spoiled the no-hitter. Jones cracked a double then Oglesby drove in the run with a groundout. But Eggburn retired the next two on flyballs to center, finishing off the win.
The finale was a scoreless duel between Rucker and Bonvillain for two innings. In the third, Hot Springs Village put its first run on the board. Steven Love singled, took second on a passed ball, third on a bunt hit by Cody Fortner then scored when Chase Anderson and Kyle Jessie worked back-to-back walks.
Bonvillain bounced back to retire the side in order in the fourth.
Meanwhile, the Sox were putting runners on base but couldn’t come up with a clutch hit against the HSV ace right-hander. In the first, Cameron Coleman who was 3 for 3 with a walk in the game, singled. With one out, Hurt added a base hit but the Villagers turned a doubleplay to end the threat.
In the second, Chaffin and Bradley Plunkett drew two-out walks but were stranded when Cates was robbed of a hit on a liner to second. The third inning started with singles by Coleman and Besancon. A wild pitch put them on second and third but they got no further as Rucker wriggled off the hook again.
Rucker worked around a two-out walk to Plunkett in the fourth then his teammates scored four in the top of the fifth to put the Black Sox under the gun. An error allowed Kelton Collins to reach to start the inning. Fortner reached on another miscue and Tyler Dauber beat out a bunt for a hit. Chase Anderson, a freshman at Arkansas Baptist University, then drilled a two-run double.
Dauber scored on a wild pitch and a one-out single by Dylan Anderson made it 5-0.
The Sox made another bid to get something going in the bottom of the fifth. Coleman led off with his third single and Besancon walked. Hurt came up and appeared to be hit by a pitch only to have the home plate umpire rule it a foul ball. Given a second chance, Rucker picked up a strikeout, got Oglesby to fly to center then struck out Jones to escape.
He retired the side in order with two more strikeouts in the sixth and started the seventh with his seventh strikeout. Coleman walked, however, and Besancon singled but, once again, Rucker got out of the jam to end the game.
Bryant stranded 10 runners in the game.
Sports Shop completed the season with a 10-13 record.
