WAXAHACHIE, Texas — In a pair of tight games, the Bryant Hornets split their second set of two contests at the annual Waxahachie Classic on Friday. In the opener, lefty Tyler Bates shut out the Duncanville, Texas, Panthers on one hit over six innings in a 2-1 win. Later, the Hornets and the Mansfield, Texas, Legacy Broncos battled to a 2-2 tie through four innings before a run in the bottom of the fifth provided the winning edge for the Broncos.
The results leave the Hornets 2-3 on the season, going into Saturday’s action starting with a game against Midlothian.
Bryant 2, Duncanville 1
Bates walked three and struck out nine in the win. The lone hit was a one-out single by Isaiah Tristan in the top of the fifth.
His teammates had just given him a lead, breaking up the scoreless duel in the bottom of the fourth.
Ryan Riggs instigated the uprising with a double. A wild pitch sent him to third. After a walk to Cade Drennan with one out, Peyton Dillon got a bunt down that scored Riggs and sent courtesy runner Blaine Sears to third.
With two down, Gavin Burton was hit by a pitch then Zion Collins singled to make it 2-0.
Seelinger took over for Bates in the seventh and surrendered a lead-off double to Jose Zaragoza. But Alejandro Layton bounced back to the mound and Tristan grounded out to Collins at third.
The game appeared to be over when Juan Salazar hit a grounder, but the ball was booted, and the run scored. Salazar stole second but Fernando Salmeron bounced out to Noah Davis at short to end the contest.
Mansfield Legacy 3, Bryant 2
Collins and Mansfield’s Breydon English dueled through four innings. The Hornets took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on walks to Davis and Drennan and a two-run double by Dillon.
The Broncos got one in the home half. Raef Wright drew a lead-off walk and Griffin Binkley singled. Nate Price was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no one out. Kayden Voelkel singled in the run, but Mansfield was unable to add on.
Bryant threatened in the top of the second when, with two out, Lawson Speer doubled inside the line in right, Riggs was hit by a pitch and Davis walked. But English and the Broncos got off the hook by inducing a fly to left.
They tied it in the bottom of the inning. Drake Dowd walked and, after Collins struck out Andrew Taylor, Zein Daabouf and Wright each singled.
A single by Turner Seelinger and a walk to Burton came to naught for the Hornets in the third but then Collins pitched around a lead-off double by Voelkel in the home half.
Again, Mansfield threatened in the fourth thanks to two Hornet errors and a walk, but Collins got the final out on strikes to escape.
Slade Renfrow relieved for the Hornets in the bottom of the fifth. An error undermined the effort to open the inning as Cameron Rusch reached base. Dowd sacrificed the runner to second then Taylor doubled him home.
Renfrow kept it to that but the Hornets could not get anything going in the top of the sixth against Binkley, on in relief of English.
