MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Lefty Daniel Shaw shackled the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team on four hits as the Batters Box (DeMarini) 18-and-under team from Collierville, Tenn., captured the championship of the Keith Hagan Memorial All America wood bat tournament with a 3-0 win.
The Batters Box team finished off a 9-0 run through the field at the prestigious 20-team tournament, which Bryant got into late after scouts at the Battle of Omaha tournament told the Sox coaches that The Hagan was one of the toughest (and well-attended by scouts) tournaments in the country.
The Sox, now 26-4, went 4-1 and won their pool then won twice today to get to the title game. Batters Box went 5-0 in pool play then won both of their games today to get the tine final.
Bryant starter Dalton Holt dueled Shaw, a freshman at the University of Tennessee-Martin, for three scoreless innings. Holt retired the first seven batters he faced before giving up a trio of walks in the third. Catcher Trey Breeding helped defuse the inning by picking a runner off second. Holt then struck out the Kendall Adkisson to end the inning.
In the fourth, however, Chris McCullough led off with the first hit for Batters Box. Holt got Brandon Dodd to ground into a force then struck out Zake Turner. But Nolan Stevens and Colby Poston followed with doubles to make it 2-0.
Batters Box added an unearned run off Sox reliever Justin Emmerling in the fifth. Dashawn Lindsey singled and went to third on a wild throw that wound up in the dugout. Adkisson singled to right to bring him home.
The Black Sox’ best chance to score came in the fifth when Brandan Warner walked with one out and, with two down, Korey Thompson blooped a single to center. A base hit by Trevor Ezell loaded the bases but Warner was picked off third by the Batters Box catcher to end the inning.
In the sixth, Hayden Lessenberry walked, stole second and reached third on an infield hit by Chase Tucker but Shaw induced a grounder to short by Emmerling to escape.
Shaw retired the side in order in the seventh, fanning the last two to seal the win.
The Bryant team heads directly to Alton, Ill., on Thursday for the annual Southwestern Illinois Firecracker Classic, starting Friday. The Sox will play Alton at 10 a.m.
