Photos courtesy of Paul Dotson 
CONWAY — They competed furiously then teamed up to help roll out a tarp to cover the Hendrix College baseball field as a thunderstorm approached. Nearly two hours later, they combined to get that wet tarp pulled off and rolled up then promptly went back to competing with just as much gusto.
It turned out to be a long hard day that proved to be particularly bittersweet for the Bryant Black Sox. Just a win away from the program’s third consecutive State championship, the Sox were denied by the rival Texarkana Razorbacks. A 6-4 victory for Texarkana forced the finale, which was interrupted in the bottom of the fourth by the storm. When play resumed, Texarkana surged to a 9-7 win to capture the championship.
There was a slice of sweet with the bitter for the Sox as they will still advance to the MidSouth Regional Tournament at UALR along with Texarkana. The tournament begins on Wednesday, Aug. 3. As State champion, Texarkana will open against the champion of Mississippi at 3:30 p.m., that day. Bryant, as the runner-up, will be listed as the host team, opening at 6:30 p.m., against the champion from Kansas.
The Sox put themselves in position to win the crown with a 10-0 win over Texarkana on Saturday. On Sunday, they led in both games but one or two bad innings in each cost them.
Despite the losses, the Sox’ Austin Kelly was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He was 11 for 25 (.440) for the tournament with nine runs batted in, including a grand slam. Bryant’s right-hander Zach Jackson received the pitching award with his two victories including six shutout innings in the team’s win over Texarkana on Saturday.
Texarkana’s Matt Goodheart received the hitting award.
In the opener, Bryant led 4-1 then 4-3 before Texarkana scored three runs in the sixth to take the lead for good.
In the second game, the Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening inning but a six-run fourth that included three Bryant errors gave the Razorbacks the upper hand. A three-run sixth for Texarkana proved too much for the Sox to overcome.
“It was a tough day,” acknowledged Bryant manager Darren Hurt. “It was just a couple of innings. You look at the two games — and it’s been that way against them all year — we let innings get to where they should never get. That should’ve never been a six-run inning. We’ve got to have somebody that steps up and makes a play in those situations and calms things down. We didn’t do that.
“I thought we did the rest of the game but we just let that inning get out of control,” he related. “Other than the one inning (in game two), I thought we played really well. We let that inning get away from us and we never recovered from it. You give up a six-run inning to these guys, much of it not necessarily earned runs, that’ll come back to haunt you. 
“The first game, we obviously didn’t put many hits together,” added Hurt, whose team had seven hits in the opener. “I kind of tip my cap to the (Patrick) Flanagan kid. He threw a really good game. We kind of helped him, swinging at some pitches early in counts and let him live longer with the pitch count than probably we should’ve. But we kept ourselves in the game even as well as he was pitching and we gave ourselves a chance to win at the end of the game.”
The opener was scoreless through three innings as Flanagan dueled Bryant’s Alex Shurtleff. Texarkana scratched out a run in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with one out on singles by Will Smith and Nick Myers, a walk to Parker Ribble, and a groundout by Beau Burson.
Bryant’s fourth began with a base hit by Dylan Hurt. Garrett Misenheimer walked and Kelly beat out a bunt single to load the sacks. Jordan Gentry picked up an RBI with a groundout off Flanagan’s glove. Jake East made it 2-1 with a sacrifice fly to right.
Seth Tucker singled up the middle then left early from first drawing a throw to second. Tucker reversed direction and Kelly broke for the plate, just sliding under the relay as Tucker got back to first.
The inning continued with a single by Orender and when Joey Cates’ grounder to second was booted, in came Tucker to make it 4-1.
Texarkana whittled a pair of runs off the margin in the top of the fifth. Singles to Riley Orr, Goodheart and Boyd produced a run then Goodheart scored as Blake Hall grounded into a force at second.
Shurtleff retired the next two batters to keep it 4-3.
Flanagan found his groove from then on. He worked around a hit batsman in the fifth.
Walks to Ribble and Burson started Texarkana’s sixth. Shurtleff got Logan Vidrine to groundout but Orr looped an RBI single to right then Goodheart stroked a double just inside the right-field line to give the Razorbacks a 5-4 lead. 
Boston Heil relieved for the Sox. He struck out Boyd but an infield hit by Hall plated another run and the 6-4 final was on the board.
Flanagan worked around a one-out hit by Tucker in the sixth then a two-out error in the seventh. Gentry singled to start the Bryant eight but a doubleplay erased him ahead of Tucker’s single. He was stranded however.
Heil, meanwhile, gave the Sox a chance by quieting the Texarkana bats over the final three innings.
The Sox made some noise in the ninth. A two-out walk to Dylan Hurt brought a change of pitchers because Flanagan had reached the limit of 110 pitches. Vidrine relieved and surrendered a single to Misenheimer. The final out came with the potential tying runs stranded in scoring position.
Texarkana 9, Bryant 7
The second game began in scintillating fashion for Bryant. In the top of the first, Hall singled with two down and stole second. He tried to score on a base hit to center by Smith but Allen charged in and fired to the plate where Hurt tagged Hall out.
In the bottom of the inning, Bryant took a 4-0 lead. Hurt singled, Misenheimer walked and Kelly was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gentry came through with a two-run double. An errant throw allowed Gentry to reach third and, moments later, he was awarded home on a balk by Texarkana starter Austin Stubber.
Beaux Bonvillain started and, after the first inning trouble, blanked the Razorbacks through three.
In the fourth, however, they put together the six-run surge. With one out, Smith beat out an infield hit then Myers reached on catcher’s interference. Ribble’s single to right loaded the bases for Burson who singled up the middle for the first Texarkana run.
Vidrine and Bonvillain battled through a 10-pitch at bat before the batter lined a single to left that drove in two runs. The Sox got Burson trapped between second and third but, an errant throw, allowed him to get to third safely. Vidrine followed into second.
That set up Orr’s squeeze bunt. Burson scored and when the ball was misplayed, Orr reached. Goodheart followed up with an RBI double. Boyd’s sacrifice fly had the Razorbacks on top 6-4.
The Sox whittled a run off the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Misenheimer lashed a single, Kelly doubled him to third and Gentry picked up the RBI with a groundout.
So it was 6-5 going into the sixth.
Vidrine’s one-out single appeared to be of little import when Bonvillain retired the batters on either side of Vidrine. But with Vidrine at second and two down, Bryant walked Goodheart to set up a force. Like Kelly and his grand slam on Saturday, Boyd burned the intentional-walk strategy when he stroked a two-run double. Hall singled him in and it was 9-5.
Back came the Sox though. A one-out walk to Orender helped extend Stubber to the limit at 109 pitches. Burson came on and walked the first two he faced the load the bases. In between the free passes, Smith, the Texarkana catcher, unleashed a wild pick-off throw allowing him to score. 
Misenheimer’s bouncer up the middle plated Allen and it was 9-7. Kelly made a bid at an extra base hit but was robbed by Hall in center.
Tucker, who relieved to get the final out of the sixth, overcame a walk and a hit batsman in the seventh. Goodheart had a bunt single, was sacrificed to second by Boyd and got to third on Hall’s single. On the throw to the plate to keep Goodheart at third, Hall went to second.
Bryant walked Smith to load the bases and set up the force at each one and, this time, the Sox got what they needed, thanks in large part to a tremendous play by East and a sparkling relay to first by Scott Schmidt to end the inning.
Tucker would work around an infield hit, fanning two in the ninth.
But the Sox couldn’t string anything together in the final three innings as Burson closed out the win. He allowed a one-out single to Schmidt in the eighth and a two-out single to Gentry in the ninth, Gentry’s third hit of the game. 
