By Rob Patrick
This time, the two extra innings were good for the Bryant Black Sox Senior American Legion team.
Trailing 5-4 after seven, the Sox rallied behind a clutch two-run homer by Hunter Mayall to survive another day and eliminate Little Rock Continental Express, 7-6, at the Zone 4 Tournament Saturday.
While Bryant survived, Benton advanced to the winners bracket final by upsetting top-seeded Pine Bluff Simmons 4-2 Saturday afternoon. But, in the winners bracket final, Texarkana outlasted Benton 9-4 to advance to the championship round. Texarkana, which rallied in the final two innings to beat Bryant on Friday, clinched one of the league’s two State bids in the process.
On Sunday, Bryant, plagued by injuries and ailments that have forced coaches Darren Hurt and Wayne Taylor to piece things together on the fly, will take on Pine Bluff Simmons at 2 p.m. with the winner surviving to take on Benton in the losers bracket final at 5. The late-game victor would advance to play Texarkana for the championship while nabbing the second State bid.