By Rob Patrick

One long wait, one long game, one long inning — and at the end of the long day, the Bryant Black Sox and Little Rock Continental Express Junior American Legion teams each had a victory as they split a doubleheader at Bryant High School Field on Sunday afternoon.

The long wait:

The opener was delayed almost an hour when no umpires showed up. Bryant High School coaches Kirk Bock and Mark Jelks finally took over the umpiring chores when it was learned umpires were on the way from Hot Springs. Eventually, however, only one umpire arrived and the coaches finished the games in the field — Bock in the first game and Jelks in the second.

The long game:

The two teams traded leads and between them seven pitchers took the bump before Continental took its turn at leading in the top of the seventh, scoring twice to reverse an 8-7 deficit. Trailing 9-8 in the bottom of the inning, the Sox, for just the second inning in the game, were held scoreless as lefty John Mark Osborn worked around a one-out walk to Chris Joiner to nail down the victory.

The one long inning:

In the second game, the Express snapped a 3-3 tie with two runs in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, Bryant scored 10 times while recording just one out (on a sacrifice bunt, at that) as 14 batters came to the plate. The result was a run-rule win, 13-5, in which Lucas Castleberry went 4-for-4. Tyler Brown had three hits, Dylan Pritchett and Caleb Milam two each.

By Rob Patrick

BENTON — The Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team took its first step toward an eighth straight Zone 4 championship on Friday.

It wasn't easy. It didn't figure to be with the rival Benton McClendon's team in the other dugout on their home field at Bernard Holland Park.

"Anytime you come over there, it's going to be a tough game," acknowledged Sox manager Craig Harrison. "I told the guys I've sat out there on that grass and I've cried there, I've talked about winning there, we've run-ruled them, we've gotten run-ruled. You never what's going to happen anytime you come here. I told them about Cliff Lee (now with the Cleveland Indians) jumping over our catcher one year (to score the winning run)."

This time, it was a pitcher's duel between a pair of tough lefties. For the Sox, Trent Daniel started on the mound he mounted a year ago when he struck out a team-record 19. For McClendon's, it was Colby Roberts who was the MVP of the Class 6A State championship game this spring for the Benton Panthers. 

Daniel, with relief help from Tyler Sawyer, wound up getting the best of it, 2-1.

 By Kirk Stewart

Bryant was very well represented in the Wally Hall Tournament of Champions held May 22-24 in Benton. Although the tournament was cut short due to rain, champions were still crowned based on pool play and the early stages of the later rounds.

In baseball, Bryant won the 14-Under division and finished third in the 12-Under division. The Bryant Sting brought home a second-place trophy in the 11-Under division. The 7-Under division’s third place title was brought back to Bryant as well as a first place win in the 6-Under classification.

By Kirk Stewart

Los Angeles has several famous boulevards. Sunset Boulevard; Santa Monica Boulevard; Wilshire Boulevard; and Hollywood Boulevard just to name a few. But, if you go to the youth softball fields in Bryant, and say the word “boulevard”, you’ll get back two words… “The Babes”.

Bryant’s own Boulevard Babes 6-Under softball team is on an unprecedented roll. With a current overall record of 41-5, the Babes have amassed several tournament victories. They have won first place in the Sardisfest Tournament, the Bryant Classic and the Benton “Knocking Off the Ice” Tournament. They also placed second in the Bryant Preseason Classic. Participating in a tournament in Oklahoma, the Babes placed third in a field that included some of the strongest teams from Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas.

By Rob Patrick

So, what do you do when you run into an opponent that's having one of those Murphy's Law (Whatever can go wrong, will) kind of games and you scored 12 times against them in the first inning?

"First of all, you don't want to get anyone hurt," answered Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion manager Craig Harrison. "Let's get somebody some work if we can. But it's almost a practice." 

Last summer, former Black Sox player Justin Gregory's Hot Springs Village Knights AA American Legion team (small town 19-and-under) with right-hander Ryan Herron, gave Bryant fits for a while before the Sox managed to pull away for an easy-looking win. On Wednesday, May 27, Herron and the Knights were back with designs on duplicating the effort and, perhaps, pulling off the upset this time.

By Rob Patrick

Lucas Castleberry and Evan Jobe fuled a five-run fourth-inning rally for the Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion at Bryant High School Field on Wednesday.

The Sox were trailing the Hot Springs Village Knights Junior team, 5-2, going into the home fourth. The rally gave Bryant a 7-5 win, improving its record to 4-1 going into a doubleheader at home on Sunday against Little Rock Continental Express.

A one-out pinch-hit single by Blake Davidson got the Sox' comeback started in the home fourth. Chris Joiner reached on an error as Davidson hustled to third. Joiner moved up on a wild pitch before Castleberry came through in the clutch with a shot down the left field line to drive both home.

With two down, Castleberry, noticing that the Knights weren't holding him close at second, took off and stole third as Brady Butler drew a walk. Consecutive walks to Landon Pickett and Tyler Brown forced in the tying run, setting the table for Jobe's two-out liner to right on a 3-2 pitch for a two-run single that put the Sox on top.

Team Genesis from Bryant Arkansas went undefeated to take first place in the Girl's Fast Pitch 8 & Under, C Division, 2009 Arkansas ASA National Invitational Tournament on Saturday, May 23.The tournament was sponsored by the Cabot Softball Association and was held in Cabot.

Team members include, front from left, Malori Pendergrass, Gianni Hulett, Meagan Chism, Ragan Purdy, Ashlyn Thompson; second row, Allie Dugan, Karlee Holt, Hannah Skinner, Bailey Cunningham, Sarah Hill, Kate Davies; back row, coaches Tim Dugan, Jack Hulett, Donnie Chism, David Hill.

Special thanks has been extended to team sponsor, Ed's Tile Service of central Arkansas.

By Kirk Stewart

The Bryant Barracudas swim team has a new head coach. His name is Onat Tungac and he is from Turkey.

Tungac believes his mission is to help grow the popularity of swimming as a sport. Originally from Izmir, Turkey, he has an impressive resumé. Even as a youngster, “Coach ‘O’” was swimming competitively with the Fenerbahce Swimming Club in his home country.

He’s an eight-time member of the Turkish National Team and represented Turkey at the 2005 World University Games.

Tungac went on to swim for Henderson State University in Arkadelphia in 2004 until he graduated in 2008. There, he was a nine-time Athletic All-American, eight-time Honorable Mention All-American and is a swimming record holder for HSU.