NORTH LITTLE ROCK — It’s been a rough season so far for the Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion team. In fact, going into Tuesday’s game at North Little Rock, it’d been 10 contests since the team’s last victory. That stretch included a pair of ties.
So, when Jace Ham and Lakin Woods combined on a one-hitter over six innings on Wednesday, the Sox took advantage to squeeze out a 2-1 win to snap that slide.
Ham pitched no-hit ball for three innings, walking one and fanning three. Woods fanned four and walked a pair in three frames of relief, surrendering North Little Rock’s lone run and only hit.
That came in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, a walk, a stolen base and a single produced the Colts’ run which, at that point, tied the game. An error followed, but a fly to Ham in left resulted in a doubleplay as he threw back in to Luke Bickerstaff at second before the baserunner there could get back.
The Sox had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. With one out, Grant Dunbar, who had two hits in the game, beat out an infield knock. After Dunbar took second on a wild pitch, Gage Horn’s grounder to short was booted. Hunter Holt came through in the clutch with a single to left to drive in the run.
After North Little Rock had tied it in the bottom of the fourth, the Sox regained the advantage in the top of the fifth. Horn walked and, with one out, Butler slapped a single to right. With two away, Brady Brower came through on a 1-2 pitch with a bloop single to left to drive in Horn.
Clay Crawford’s bunt single loaded the bases, but a strikeout ended the inning.
Woods and the Sox defense made it stand up though. In the bottom of the fifth, he pitched around a two-out walk. In the sixth, he closed out the victory by striking out the side around a two-out error.
The Sox were set to play again on T
