Black Sox ease to sweep of Benton in Zone 4 twinbill
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
Photos courtesy of Paul Dotson
With the regular season winding down, things have become a little more intensive for the teams in the Senior American Legion’s Zone 4, which includes the Bryant Black Sox and Benton Everett Buick GMC who battled Wednesday night at Bryant High School Field.
The Sox rolled to a pair of wins, 14-1 and 12-2, over the short-handed Benton crew. And they’re set to play doubleheaders against the remaining three teams in the league over the next five days ahead of the State Tournament, which starts in Conway on Friday, July 15. Tonight, Bryant heads to El Dorado for a Zone 4 twinbill. On Friday, they host Texarkana, a doubleheader originally scheduled for Saturday but moved up due to the threat of rain.
The Sox hammered out 23 hits in Wednesday’s outings and seven different pitchers got work. In the opener Beaux Bonvillain picked up the win, pitching into the fifth. When his pitch count reached 99 with two out and the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, manager Darren Hurt called on Boston Heil to get the last out, a fly to Logan Allen in center off the bat of Benton’s Logan Gartin.
It was the third time in the five-inning contest that the frustrated Benton team left the bases loaded.
In the nightcap, Austin Kelly started but suffered some arm soreness in the second inning and gave way to Heil, who pitched two innings. Alex Shurtleff, Aaron Orender, Jake East and Seth Tucker followed with a shutout inning apiece.
Offensively, Allen had five hits in the two games combined and Orender had four.
Bryant 14, Benton 1
In the first game, Allen had a triple, a double and a single — a home run short of the cycle through three innings. In the fourth, he got a shot at it and wound up with a sacrifice fly. In fact, he led off the first three innings as the Black Sox sent nine to the plate in the first two frames, building a 10-0 lead.
After Allen’s triple, the inning continued with a walk to Dylan Hurt. Though he was thrown out trying to steal, Garrett Misenhiemer drew a free pass and, when he tried to steal, an errant throw not only allowed him to take third but Allen scored.
A walk to Kelly put runners at the corners for Jordan Gentry, who looped a single to center to pick up an RBI. East’s bunt, which he legged out for a hit, loaded the bases. Tucker grounded into a force at second as Kelly scored. He swiped second and Orender knocked in two with a single to right, making it 5-0.
Bonvillain had issued two walks and a single in the top of the first but struck out the side to get out of the jam. In the second, he fanned two more on his way to eight in the game. Benton went down in order in the second and the Sox went back to work at the plate.
Allen’s double got things started again. He swiped third as Hurt walked. Misenheimer got him home with a sacrifice fly. Hurt moved up on a wild pitch as Kelly drew another walk. Gentry singled to center to drive in Hurt and when the relay to the plate was off target, Kelly scored as well.
Gentry wound up at second on the play. He took third on a wild pitch as East was working a four-pitch walk.
After a change of pitchers with Justin Garrett taking over for starter Westyn Buchanan, Tucker cracked an RBI single to left to make it 10-0.
Bonvillain worked around a hit batsman in the top of the third, aided by a nice running catch in right by Joey Cates to rob Garrett of extra bases.
Bryant’s third began with Allen’s single. He moved up on Hurt’s groundout and, with two down, scored on a single by Kelly. Gentry was struck by a pitch then East pounded a drive to deep left-center for a two-run triple, making it 13-0.
Benton picked up its run in the top of the fourth. With one out, Grant Rambo and Tristen Hutchinson each singled. And when Logan Gartin’s grounder was misplayed, the run scored. A walk to Buchanan loaded the bases with the top of the order coming up but Bonvillain struck out Garrett and got Braden Carman to fly to center to end the inning.
Orender double to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Cates singled him to third then Allen’s sacrifice fly got him home, making it 14-1.
Bonvillain hit Cole McSwain with a pitch to start the Benton fifth but he retired the next two including Andrew Swaim on strikes. A walk to Rambo kept the inning going and when Hutchinson slapped a single to right to load the bases, Heil was called in to end it.
Bryant 12, Benton 2
With Benton as the home team, the Black Sox scored four times in the top of the first to continue their offensive surge. Allen again was the instigator with a lead-off single and a stolen base. Hurt was robbed of a hit by Garrett at short but Allen made it to third. He scored on Misenheimer’s bounce out.
Walks to Gentry and East kept the inning going. A balk put runners at second and third for Tucker, who beat out an infield hit for an RBI then swiped second setting the table for Orender who sliced a single to right, plating both runners.
Kelly worked around a two-out walk in the bottom of the first and Benton starter Caleb Dorsey settled in to retire the side in order in the top of the second.
In the home second, Rambo singled and Buchanan walked. That’s when Kelly’s discomfort forced him out of the game. With Heil on the mound, Swaim beat out a bunt single to load the bags but then he induced a double-play ball from Gartin. Rambo scored on the play then Dorsey singled up the middle to plate Buchanan, making it 4-2.
Benton would manage just three singles the rest of the game.
Bryant got one of the runs back in the top of the third. Misenheimer singled to right and when the ball was kicked, he wound up at second. With one out, East’s knock brought Misenheimer around.
Benton was retired 1-2-3 in the bottom of the third and the Sox proceeded to bust the game open in the top of the fourth. Orender singled to start the six-run outburst. Cates walked and Scott Schmidt was plunked by a pitch from Rambo, who was on in relief of Dorsey. Allen followed with a drive to deep center that drove in two. And when the relay to the plate got away, Schmidt scampered home as well.
Hurt singled in Allen then sprinted to third on Misenheimer’s double. Gentry got Hurt home with a sacrifice fly and, with two down, Tucker walked. He stole second and, when Benton threw through, Misenheimer raced home to cap off the inning.
Shurtleff gave up an infield hit in the bottom of the fourth but eased through the rest of the inning. Orender set down the side in order in the fifth. In the sixth, East worked around a pair of singles, fanning two. Tucker retired the first two in the seventh before plunking Hutchinson. On the second pitch to Carman, however, Hutchinson tried to steal second and Hurt threw him out to end the game.
