The Bryant All-Stars will battle for the Cal Ripken 10-and-under State championship this evening at Bishop Park against the winner of the losers’ bracket final between Sylvan Hills and Little Rock Junior Deputy. The Bryant Stars are unbeaten in the tournament after edging Clark County, 2-1, on Saturday; DeWitt, 8-6, on Sunday; and Junior Deputy, 6-4, on Monday. The challenger tonight must beat Bryant twice to deny the local All-Stars of the State title.
On the line will be a trip to Regionals in Amite, La., starting July 18.
The Bryant team, managed by Jason Greiner with assistance from Ryan Martin and Jeremy Morrow, includes Carson Burnett, Gavin Burton, Luke Dreher, Caleb Greiner, Drew Hatman, Connor Martin, Colby Morrow, Cade Parker, Jackson Parker, Turner Seelinger, Hayden Thompson and Logan White.
Bryant 6, Little Rock Junior Deputy 4
Junior Deputy snapped a 1-1 tie with three runs in the fourth but Bryant rallied for five in the fifth then held the Little Rock team in the top of the sixth to earn the victory. Seelinger pitched two shutout innings in relief of White, the starter.
Jackson Parker, Martin, Seelinger, Burnett and Burton each drove in a run.
The game-breaking fifth began with a walk to White. Cade Parker ripped a double to send him to third and he scored from there on a passed ball. Burton then got a squeeze bunt down to plate Parker and, when the ball was misplayed, he reached first safely.
The lead was cut to 4-3 at that point and Morrow smacked a single into left to keep the inning going. Hatman beat out an infield hit and the bases were loaded. Greiner bounced into a force at the plate but then Jackson Parker worked a walk to force in Morrow with the tying run.
Martin walked on four straight pitches and Bryant had a lead. Junior Deputy got another force at the plate on a grounder to third by Seelinger but a walk to Burnett made it a 6-4 lead.
In the sixth, Little Rock got a break on an error but Seelinger struck out the next batter, induced a grounder to Martin at short for a force and ended it with a fly to Hatman in right.
Both teams had scored a run in the first. Junior Deputy used an error and a pair of singles. In the home half, Jackson Parker, Martin and Seelinger stroked consecutive singles to get the run in.
Little Rock took the lead with three in the fourth combining a single and a walk with a pair of Bryant miscues.
Bryant 8, DeWitt 6
In a game tied 4-4 after three innings, Bryant scored a run in the home fourth and three in the fifth to gain the upper hand then had to hold off a DeWitt rally in the top of the sixth.
Greiner and Jackson Parker each had two hits. Seelinger and White drove home a pair apiece.
Morrow picked up the win in relief of Greiner, ending the game with a strikeout after the potential tying run came to the plate.
Bryant took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after Greiner retired DeWitt on just four pitches. At the plate, Greiner beat out a bunt single but was caught stealing. With two down, Martin singled to left and scored when Seelinger drilled a double to left.
Greiner set down three in a row in the second but, in the third, DeWitt stuck for four runs on three hits.
The lead didn’t last long. In the home third, Greiner and Jackson Parker singled and Martin was hit by a pitch. A passed ball allowed a run to score then Seelinger picked up an RBI with a groundout. Burnett’s grounder plated Martin and it was 4-4.
Morrow retired the side in order in both the top of the fourth and top of the fifth. In between, Bryant snapped the tie. Hatman reached safely on a two-out error, took second then third on passed balls then scored on Morrow’s single to center.
In the fifth, the offense revved up again. Seelinger singled, Burnett walked and White chased both home with a drive to left for a triple. Cade Parker got White home with a grounder to short and it was 8-4.
A pair of walks and an error gave DeWitt life in the top of the sixth. A run scored on the error then another came home when Burnett fielded a grounder to third and got the first out on a force then fired to first for a doubleplay before the strikeout ended the game.
Bryant 2, Clark County 1
Morrow allowed one run on four hits, walked three and struck out six in a rout-going performance on the mound, making a fourth-inning run that snapped a 1-1 tie hold up for the victory.
He retired the last six in a row after a single and a two-base error put the Bryant lead in jeopardy with no one out in the fifth.
A run in the first put Bryant on top initially. Greiner walked and Jackson Parker tripled to bring him around. A walk to Martin followed by Seelinger getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases but Clark County escaped further damage.
The lone Clark County run scored in the top of the third. A lead-off single, a swinging bunt in front of the plate and a sacrifice got a runner to third. After a walk, Clark County worked a double steal to get the run in before Morrow induced a grounder to Greiner at second for the final out.
Morrow worked around a walk and a single in the fourth to set up Bryant’s tie-snapping rally.
Yaya
Go Bryant