LAKE VILLAGE — Aidan Adams and Will Hathcoate combined on a one-hit shutout with 11[more] strikeouts between them in five innings as the Bryant 9-year-old All-Stars opened the 2012 South Arkansas State Tournament with an 8-0 win overj the Magnolia All-Stars on Friday.
A five-run fourth inning helped put Bryant break open a close game.
The 9-year-old All-Stars are Aidan Adams, Tyler Bates, Dakota Clay, Cooper Davis, Noah Davis, Peyton Dillon, Will Hathcoate, Cameron McDonald, Justin Orender, Ryan Riggs, Austin Schroeder, Lawson Speer, Garrett Wilson. They are managed by Matt Orender. He’s assisted by Jeff Clay and Paul Speer.
The team was set to play Crossett in a second-round game on Saturday.
Of the nine outs Adams recorded in the first three innings on the mound, seven came on strikes. He pitched around a walk in the to start the game, getting the next two batters to ground into a fielder’s choice then starting a string of six straight punch-outs to send it to the second.
Bryant took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning on base hits by Speer, Dillon and Schroeder.
In the home third, base hits by Noah Davis and Speer set the table for Dillon who singled in one. With runners on the corners, Dillon stole second. Speer scored when Schroeder grounded out to short, making it 3-0.
Hathcoate took over on the mound in the fourth and retired the last six Magnolia batters in a row including all three on strikes in the fifth.
That came after the game-busting home fourth, which was sparked by Clay’s base hit and stolen base. Orender walked and, after both runners moved up a base on Hathcoate’s grounder to short, Noah Davis came through with a single to open the floodgates. Speer doubled then three consecutive batters, Wilson, Dillon and McDonald were hit by a pitches.
After a pitching change, Cooper Davis flew out to right but Clay was hit by a pitch to force in the fifth run.
