Sport Shop Sox overwhelm Benton Everett
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BENTON — The Sport Shop Black Sox AA American Legion team of Bryant took advantage of 10 walks, two hit batsmen and five errors with 12 hits, seven of which were doubles, to put together a 15-3 romp over the Everett Cardinals Junior Legion team of Benton at Bill Perry Field on Monday night.
The win evened the Sox record at 2-2 going into Wednesday’s trip to North Little Rock.
Dakota Besancon had three of Bryant’s hits and two of the doubles. Hunter Oglesby, Weston Jones, and Caleb Chaffin each had two hits. Oglesby drove in three.
Right-hander Joey Cates pitched the first four innings to pick up the win, allowing two runs on three hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Ashton Shropshire and Daniel Darbonne finished up. Darbonne pitched a 1-2-3 sixth after inducing a doubleplay ball to end the fifth.
“The pitching, for the most part, was good,” said Sox manager Hunter Mayall. “We had a little hitch for a moment but the pitching was good, the defense was good. And we ended up swinging it well for the most part.”
Sport Shop grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Cates reached on an error, stole second and sprinted home on Oglesby’s double to right-center.
In the second, Bradley Plunkett walked with one out, starting a five-run uprising. Shropshire was hit by a pitch and Cates walked to load the bases for Besancon, who looped a two-run double to right. Oglesby was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Bailey Bowers. He walked to force in a run to make it 4-0.
After a pitching change, Jones beat out an infield hit on a roller that glanced off the glove of the pitcher, Cody Isenhower. Besancon scored on the play. And when Chaffin drew a walk, it forced in yet another run, pushing the lead to 6-0.
Benton got on the board in the bottom of the second. Colby Byrd singled to left and came around on three wild pitches as Alec Shilling walked. But Cates regained control at that point and ended the inning by inducing a pop to Besancon at short off the bat of Ross Dawson.
In the top of the third, Shropshire drilled a one-out double to left center, stole second and scored when the throw from catcher Braden Carmen skipped past the third sacker.
Cates retired the side in order in the bottom of the third to keep it 7-1. In the fourth, Bowers ripped a double to left. He moved to third on a bloop double by Jones. Chaffin walked to load the bases and, with one out, Plunkett bounced into a force at the plate. But Shropshire’s hot grounder to third was misplayed and both Jones and Chaffin hustled home to make it 9-1.
Benton managed a second run in the bottom of the fourth. Singles by Logan Clay and Zach Whittamore set the table. Carmen sacrificed them to second and third then a wild pitch allowed Clay to score.
But Cates kept it to that by getting Byrd to pop to second and striking out Shilling.
The third Cardinals pitcher, D.J. Walker, pitched around a lead-off single by Besancon in the top of the fifth and, in the home half, Benton picked up another run. Dillon Pierce drew a walk, took second on a wild pitch, third on a passed ball and scored when Brandon Williams grounded out.
Another walk, this one to Dakota Rains, and a single by Walker had runners at the corners. But Darbonne came on at that point and the Sox turned a doubleplay to end the threat.
Bryant took any lingering mystery out of the outcome with six runs in the top of the sixth. Chaffin started the uprising with an infield hit and later singled again. After that first hit, Nick Kehrees singled to left and Darbonne drew a walk to load the bases. Chaffin scored on a wild pitch as Shropshire walked to load the bases again. Cates picked up an RBI with a groundout to short. Darbonne scored when Besancon’s pop into shallow right field was dropped. Oglesby capped things off with a two-run double down the left-field line. He would scored on a wild pitch to make it 15-3.
SPORT SHOP BLACK SOX 15, EVERETT CARDINALS 3
Bryant ab r h bi Benton ab r h bi
Cates, p-rf-2b 4 2 0 1 Cornwell, 3b-2b 2 0 0 0
Besancon, ss 5 2 3 2 Rains, 2b 0 0 0 0
Oglesby, cf 4 2 2 3 Isenhower, 2b-p 2 0 0 0
Bowers, c 3 0 1 1 Walker, p-3b 1 0 1 0
Jones, 3b-lf 4 1 2 1 Clay, 1b 3 1 1 0
Chaffin, 1b 3 2 2 1 Whittamore, ss 3 0 1 0
Kehrees, 2b-3b 4 1 1 0 Carmen, c 2 0 0 0
Plunkett, lf 2 1 0 0 Byrd, cf 3 1 1 0
Darbonne, 2b-p 1 1 0 0 Shilling, lf 1 0 0 0
Shropshire, rf-p 2 3 1 0 Dawson, rf 1 0 0 0
Pierce, rf 0 1 0 0
Williams, p-3b 2 0 0 1
Totals 32 15 12 9 Totals 20 3 4 1
Bryant 151 206 — 15
Benton 010 110 — 3
E—Whittamore 2, Carmen, Williams, Pierce. DP—Bryant 1, Benton 1. LOB—Bryant 11, Benton 3. 2B— Oglesby 2, Besancon 2, Shropshire, Bowers, Jones. SB—Cates, Shropshire. S—Carmen.
Pitching ip r er h bb so
Bryant
Cates (W) 4 2 2 3 1 5
Shropshire 0.1 1 1 1 2 0
Darbonne 1.2 0 0 0 0 1
Benton
Williams (L) 1.1 6 5 2 4 0
Isenhower 3.2 3 1 5 2 2
Walker 1.1 6 3 4 3 0
Williams 0.2 0 0 1 1 1
HBP—Shropshire, Oglesby (by Williams). WP—Cates 4, Williams 2, Walker 2, Shropshire 2. PB—Bowers.
