MEMPHIS — Of all the teams that reached bracket play in the Keith Hagan Memorial All-American Tournament, the Bryant Black Sox Junior American Legion team happened to draw the only one that had beaten them. The St. Louis Gamers, who handed the Sox a 7-0 loss in pool play on Saturday, prevailed over the Sox again on Monday in the first round of bracket play, 9-2, knocking them out of contention for the tourney title.
Bryant was set to play a consolation game on Monday evening but it was rained out. With other games washed out as well and needing to be made up, the Sox’ final game may not be rescheduled.
Now 18-11, Bryant is set to return to action at Magnet Cove on Friday at 6 p.m.
St. Louis right-hander Matt Bauer went the distance on Monday, limiting the Sox to two runs on four hits. He walked no one and fanned five.
Bryant’s Grayson Prince dueled with Bauer but couldn’t get out of the fourth when the Gamers snapped a 2-2 tie and began to build their lead.
Jacob Wright had two of Bryant’s hits. Christian Harp and Micah Holyfield each added a single.
Dominic Cusumano passed St. Louis with three hits. Austin Schmitt had two.
Bauer retired the first nine Bryant batters. Prince pitched around a two-out triple by Cusumano in the first and three walks in the second. On a pitch that got past Wright, the Bryant catcher, St. Louis tried to score with two out in the second but Wright hustled after the ball and got to it in time to flip to Prince to end the inning.
But the Gamers scored twice in the bottom of the third. Brennen van Breusegen singled with one out and Josh Gibson doubled. A wild pitch allowed the first run to score then Brayden Arnold singled in the second before Prince got Cusumano to ground into a doubleplay started by Logan Catton at second.
The Sox came to lift in the top of the fourth and tied it, sparked by Wright’s single to center, the first Bauer allowed. With Clift Chaffin in as a courtesy runner, Catton got a sacrifice bunt down. And when Bauer made a wild throw to first, the Sox had runners at second and third.
Coby Greiner got Chaffin home with a grounder to second. Catton went to third and, moments later, scored on Harp’s single to left.
But St. Louis scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good. Prince got the first two batters out including the second, Mitch Daniels, on strikes. But a pair of walks followed, both on 3-2 pitches. Schmitt delivered a two-run single and Ricky Maddock doubled in the third run.
Holyfield, who had relieved Prince in the fourth and ended the inning with a strikeout, singled with one out in the top of the fifth but the Gamers turned a doubleplay to keep it 5-2. They then tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the inning.
Wright opened Bryant’s sixth with his second hit, a line-drive single to left. But he was stranded as Bauer and the Gamers retired the next three then closed out the contest in the seventh with a 1-2-3 frame. That came after they tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth, again after Sox reliever Brandon Hoover retired the first two.
Special thanks to J’Ann Boyd
