Photos courtesy of Jimmy Jones
SHERWOOD — The two best teams at the Sylvan Hills Fathers Day Bash 8-and-under baseball tournament last weekend turned out both to be from Bryant.
At the end, the Bryant 8-year-old All-Stars, coached by Jeremy Stovall, Michael Brower and Chad Kemp, edged the 7-year-old All-Stars, coached by Brad Chism, Jeff Jackson, C.J. Brown and Patrick Schroeder, 5-4 in the championship game.
The Bryant 8’s are Garrison Blacklaw, Brady Brower, Reid Catton, Clay Crawford, Gavin Hill, Gage Horn, Aiden Hughes, Grant Johnson, Carson Kemp, Gideon Motes, Hank Penfield and Caden Stovall.
The Bryant 7’s are J.T. Allen, Brayden Beenken, Gavyn Benson, Carter Brown, Cooper Chism, Avery Heidelberg, Drake Holland, Landon Jackson, E.J. McCoy, Andrew Schroeder, Braxton Speer, Aiden Stout and Hudson Thomason.
To get to the finals, the Bryant 8’s drubbed Little Rock Junior Deputy, 13-1, and the Sylvan Hills Bears, 15-0, on Saturday. Sunday, they topped Sylvan Hills, 10-1, and Junior Deputy 5-3.
The Bryant 7’s shut out Benton White, 6-0, and edged the Junior Deputy 7’s, 4-3, on Saturday. A 5-1 win over the Sylvan Hills Storm and a 7-2 win over the JD 7’s on Sunday put them in the final.
Bryant 8’s 5, Bryant 7’s 4
The 7’s were ahead 4-3 going into the bottom of the sixth but the 8’s rallied for two runs to pull out the win in thrilling fashion. Catton singled to open the home sixth. He was forced at second on Blacklaw’s grounder to short. Stovall’s base hit put runners at first and third for Kemp who drilled a double to left field that scored both runners.
The 8’s had opened the scoring with two runs in the first. Brower supplied a two-out, two-run single after Catton, Blacklaw and Kemp had reached on base hits.
The 7’s trimmed a run off the margin in the top of the second. With one out, Stout singled and scored on a double by Benson.
Penfield singled to left, stole second and third then scored on an error to get the run back for the 8’s in the home second.
It stayed 3-1 until the 7’s rallied to tie in the fourth and took a lead in the fifth. Allen started the fourth with an infield hit then Speer beat out a bunt single. And with third unoccupied, Allen hustled to the extra base. Speer stole second and, with one out, Heidelberg cracked an RBI single.
Speer held at third when Thomason beat out an infield hit to load the bases and, with two down, Stout’s infield hit drove in the tying tally. Heidelberg made a bid to score as well but the 8’s got the ball to the plate in time for Hughes to make the tag.
The 8’s managed singles by Johnson and Penfield with two out in the bottom of the fourth but both were stranded. In the fifth, Benson singled for the 7’s. He moved up a base on Brown’s grounder, took third on an infield hit by Chism and scored the go-ahead run on Holland’s knock.
That 4-3 lead held until the 8-year-old team’s game-winning rally in the home sixth.
Semifinals
Bryant 8’s 5, Junior Deputy 8’s 3
Catton had three hits, Brower and Horn two each in the win over Junior Deputy.
The 8’s held a 4-1 lead after four innings but had to hold off a Junior Deputy rally.
Bryant trailed 1-0 after the top of the first but struck for three runs to grab the lead for good. Catton beat out a bunt single but was forced on Blacklaw’s grounder to short. He advanced to second on a bouncer to the mound by Stovall then scored when Kemp lashed a double. Horn blasted a triple to left to make it 2-1 then scored on a single by Brower.
Bryant tacked on a run in the fourth when Horn doubled and scored on a single by Brower.
After Little Rock got that run back in the top of the fifth, Mote singled, went to third on a double by Catton and scored on Blacklaw’s sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.
In its final at bat, Junior Deputy managed a run and had the potential tying run at the plate when the final out was recorded.
Bryant 7’s 7, Junior Deputy 7’s 2
Speer and Heidelberg each had two hits to lead the Bryant 7’s to victory. Bryant led just 3-2 going into the bottom of the fifth but gained control with a four-run fifth then held JD in the top of the sixth to nail down the win.
Bryant took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. An error allowed Allen to race all the way to third and, a pitch later, he scored on a single by Speer. McCoy bounced into a force at second but Heidelberg’ single drew a wild return throw to the infield allowing McCoy to score. Heidelberg advanced to third on Thomason’s groundout then scored on a wild pitch.
It stayed 3-0 until Junior Deputy rallied for two runs in the fifth, stranding the potential tying run.
Bryant’s game-breaking fifth started with Benson reaching on an error. Brown singled and Cooper reached on an error that allowed Benson to score. Holland picked up an RBI with a groundout with Chism sneaking home on Brown’s heels to make it 6-2. Allen singled in Brown with the final run.
Quarterfinals
Bryant 8’s 10, Sylvan Hills Bears 1
Six different Bryant batters had two hits with Hughes driving in three runs. Kemp and Brower knocked in a pair apiece.
The Bears opened the scoring, managing their lone run in the top of the first. In turn, Bryant scored three times. Catton singled and was forced at second on a grounder to short by Blacklaw. But Blacklaw stole his way to third then scored on Stovall’s lined single to left.
Stovall swiped second and raced home on Horn’s drive to center for a double. Brower’s base hit got Horn home.
In the second, Penfield belted a triple and was knocked in by Hughes, who singled, making it 4-1.
The 8’s maxed out with six runs in the third. Blacklaw singled then Stovall and Kemp cracked consecutive doubles to make it 6-1. Horn doubled and Brower got Kemp home with a groundout. Johnson singled in Horn and, after Penfield beat out an infield hit, Hughes tripled to drive in two.
Bryant 7’s 5, Sylvan Hills Storm 1
Allen, Thomason and Jackson each cracked two hits to lead the way against Sylvan Hills. Bryant took a 2-0 lead in the second and, after both teams put a run up in the third, scored twice in the fourth to provide the winning margin.
The second-inning uprising started with Thomason’s single to center. He stole second and, after Jackson singled, scored on Stout’s grounder to third. Jackson, who took second on Stout’s groundout, stole third then scored on Benson’s sacrifice fly.
The Storm cut it to 2-1 in the top of the third but Bryant got that run back in the home half. Chism reached on an error, stole second and took third on Beenken’s two-out hit. Allen knocked in the run with a single.
The fourth-inning started with McCoy’s lined single. Though he was forced at second on Heidelberg’s grounder, Thomason came through with an RBI double after Heidelberg had stolen second. Jackson singled and Thomason scored on the front end of a double steal.
Second round
Bryant 8’s 15, Sylvan Hills Bears 0
Bryant pounded out 22 hits including three by Catton. Hughes and Stovall each drove in three runs, Kemp two.
Bryant scored the maximum of six runs in the first and again in the third. In the first, Stovall doubled in a run and Kemp singled in two. Brower drove in a run with a base hit to center. Penfield contributed a double and Hughes drove in two with a base hit.
In the second, Mote singled and, with two out, Catton beat out a bunt for a single. Blacklaw doubled to plate a run then Stovall’s two-bagger chased in two to make it 9-0.
The six-run third started with consecutive doubles by Brower, Penfield, Johnson, Hughes and Crawford. Hill singled in a run and so did Catton.
Bryant 7’s 4, Junior Deputy 7’s 3
Allen and Heidelberg each had two hits for Bryant, which built a 4-1 lead going into the fifth. Junior Deputy scored twice in the fifth and had the potential tying run on base before being retired.
A run scored in the first for Bryant. Allen singled and Jackson bounced into a force. McCoy grounded into a force but Heidelberg beat out an infield hit and when there was a wild throw on the play, McCoy raced around the bases to score.
Junior Deputy tied it in the bottom of the third. In the fourth, Allen, Speer and McCoy beat out infield hits. Allen scored on a wild pitch then Heidelberg singled to load the bases again. Speer raced home on a steal but McCoy was caught trying to move up on the play. With two down, Stout’s base hit chased in Heidelberg from second.
After JD cut the lead to a run, Bryant retired the side 1-2-3 in the sixth to nail down the win.
First round
Bryant 8’s 13, Junior Deputy 8’s 1
Blacklaw, Horn and Kemp each had three hits and Horn drove in five runs to lead the Bryant 8’s opening rout.
After taking a 3-0 lead in the first, Bryant erupted for six runs in the second to take control of the game.
Blacklaw singled in the first and scored on a two-out triple by Kemp. Horn singled to make it 2-0 then scored when Stovall ripped a base hit down the right-field line.
The big inning began with a single by Hughes. Mote added a one-out hit but the duo remained at second and third with two down. Catton came through with a double and the floodgates were open. Blacklaw tripled, Johnson singled, Kemp smacked a two-bagger and Horn capped off the inning with a two-run triple.
Crawford and Mote each contributed RBI singles in the third and, after Junior Deputy got on the board in the bottom of the third, Horn doubled in the final two runs in the top of the fourth.
Bryant 7’s 6, Benton White 0
Benton White managed just three hits in the game. For Bryant, Speer, Thomason and Stout had two apiece.
A two-run first got the 7’s off to a good start. Thomason drove in both runs with a two-out single after Allen and Speer had opened the frame with base hits.
It stayed 2-0 until the fourth when Speer stroked a one-out double and, with two down, Heidelberg singled him home. Thomason doubled in Heidelberg then stole third and scored when Jackson’s grounder to first was booted. A second error on the play allowed Jackson to sprint all the way around to score as well, making it 6-0.
