Blacksox drub Cabot in final prep for District
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).
By ROB PATRICK
BRYANT TIMES
CABOT — David Moore and Matt White each clobbered home runs and drove in four as the Bryant Blacksox ended the regular season with a rare romp, burying Cabot 19-6 on Saturday.
The win gave Bryant a symmetrical 31-13 record going into the Zone 4 District Tournament at Bryant High School field.
The Sox avoided their first three game losing streak of the season with the victory. It was the third time they’d dropped two straight and ended the skid at that.
Four pitchers got some work on the mound and 13 players got the plate, so it served as a decent tune-up for the District.
Despite the final margin, once again the Sox had to overcome a deficit — a frequent undertaking this season. After scoring three in the top of the first, the Sox surrendered five in the bottom of the first and another in the bottom of the second to trail 6-3. After that, however, Cabot managed just two hits against Derek Chambers and Scott Yant. Actually, Cabot had only four hits in the game. But control problems plagued starter Cody Dreher and reliever Kevin Littleton, at first. The only hit Littleton surrendered was a solo homer to Matt Eagle in the second.
Bryant took the lead initially with three hits in the top of the first. Jeff Carpenter singled and swiped second. With two out, Cody Graddy was hit by a pitch then Clay Jones looped an RBI single to left. When Jones took off for second on a stolen-base attempt, Eagle, the Cabot catcher, tried to pick off Graddy at third and fired the ball into left. Graddy scored and Jones wound up at third. Littleton then made it 3-0 by smashing a double to center.
A bloop double was the only hit Cabot managed in the bottom of the inning. It led the inning off. After a wild pitch send J.D. Shirley to third, he scored when Andy Hampton reached on an error. With one out, a hit batsman and a walk loaded the bases. Kevin Rayburn then lined out to short making the rest of the runs unearned. A run scored on a wild pitch then four consecutive walks — two from Dreher and two from Littleton, produced three runs before Hampton flied out to center.
Cabot returned the favor, however, in the third. After Graddy blooped a double behind first, walks to Littleton, Chambers and Moore forced in a run. Wood tied it 6-6 with a single to right.
In the fourth, Bryant took control with the help of a two-out error that extended the inning. Jones reached base on the miscue then Littleton walked again. Chambers singled in a run then Moore unloaded with a three-run dinger, his second in the last two weeks.
White’s solo shot to center in the fifth gave Bryant an 11-6 edge. The Sox then blew the game open with a seven-run sixth, aided by a trio of errors. Jones singled to open the inning and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Chambers. Andrew Norman picked up an RBI with a grounder that was misplayed and Justin Woods beat out an infield hit that drove in a run. White followed with a two-run single, taking second when the ball was kicked a bit in left then Graddy stroked a double into the corner in left to plate two more.
The Sox added a run in the seventh on three walks and an error to set the final score with a season-high 19 runs.
