Another comeback lifts AA Black Sox to victory
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting 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
LITTLE ROCK — For the second night in a row, the Bryant Black Sox AA American Legion team overcame an early deficit to notch a victory at UALR’s Curran Conway Field on Wednesday, June 6.
A five-run first inning by the Little Rock Continental Express AA team was all the Sox wound up allowing as Justin Blankenship pitched five innings of two-hit, shutout relief to pick up the win. Bryant, after not scoring in the first, put up runs in five of the last six innings to post a 9-5 victory.
Trey Burkhalter had three of Bryant’s 12 hits with Blankenship and Preston Adami adding two hits each.
Jeremy Burge, who pitched briefly in relief the night before in Bryant’s 10-9 comeback win over Little Rock Blue, started on the mound against Continental and had a hard-luck first inning.
After a walk and a single, he got the first out on strikes despite a wild pitch that put runners at second and third. The first run scored on a grounder to short that was booted. A sacrifice fly made it 2-0. After a walk loaded the bases, it appeared that Burge and the Sox were out of the inning when shortstop Jeremy Beadle went into the hole to field a grounder by Clint Green. With no time to make a long throw to first, Beadle looked to third where third sacker Trey Burkhalter had alertly dropped back to cover. Beadle threw to Burkhalter in plenty of time for the force out and the Sox started off the field. But the field umpire ruled that Burkhalter wasn’t on the bag and, despite the protests of manager Mark Kehrees, the ruling stood and the inning continued. A hit batsman and a two-run single followed, making it a 5-run inning.
Undaunted, the Sox began their comeback by scoring a run in the top of the second on a pair of walks, a double steal and an RBI groundout by Drew Ransdell.
Burge worked around an infield hit in the bottom of the inning and his teammates put together a four-run uprising in the top of the third to tie the game.
Blankenship was the instigator with a bloop single to start the uprising. He stole second, went to third on a single into the hole by Burkhalter then scored ahead of his teammate on a long double by Haydon.
With two down, Austin Queck walked to set the table for Adami who laced a double to left that chased both runners home, tying the game.
Blankenship relieved in the third and retired the side in order. He was then in the middle of the two-run fourth that put the Sox ahead to stay. Aaron Schrock’s single started the inning. He was able to take second on an errant return throw then score on Blankenship’s base hit up the middle. Beadle walked and, after a pitching change, Burkhalter singled sharply to left to load the bases. An out later, Kaleb Jobe came through with a sacrifice fly that gave the Sox a 7-5 advantage.
After Blankenship worked around a hit batsman and a single, thanks in large part to a nifty doubleplay (Jobe to Beadle to Haydon). Bryant added a run in the top of the fifth when Adami doubled, Ransdell walked, Schrock got down a sacrifice bunt and, after Blankenship walked, Beadle delivered an RBI single.
Blankenship gave up a two-out single in the fifth but then retired the last seven batters he faced to close out the win.
The Sox added a run in the seventh on a single by Ransdell, a passed ball, another sac bunt by Schrock and a sacrifice fly by Blankenship, setting the final score.
