Wood, Bryan no-hit Hall in conference opener
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 continue 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
Travis Wood and Todd Bryan combined to no-hit the Little Rock Hall Warriors as the Bryant Hornets opened play in the AAAAA-Central Conference with a 10-0 win on Friday, March 12.
Wood worked six innings and struck out 13, walked three and hit two batters before giving way to Bryan who struck out the side in the seventh to finish the game.
The Hornets played the game on their home field as a visitor because it was supposed to be Hall’s home game. The Warriors, however, didn’t have a field available. (They usually play home games at Little Rock Fair.)
The win improved Bryant to 9-0 against, admittedly, spotty competition. To their credit, they haven’t let anybody unexpected slip up on them and there figured to be tougher foes on the horizon, first off, at the Xtra Innings Invitational in Jonesboro during spring break. The Hornets were set to face Jonesboro on Thursday, March 18, then Bentonville the following day and Gosnell on Saturday.
Wood continued his — and the team’s — spectacular pitching in the win over Hall. He improved to 4-0. In 19 innings in those four games, he has struck out a whopping 46 while surrendering just one hit and 12 walks. It was also Bryan’s fourth appearance. He leads the team with two saves. In 5 1/3 innings, he’s struck out eight, allowed just three hits and two runs, both unearned.
Offensively, the Hornets were aided by six Hall errors, eight walks and three hit batsmen. They had nine hits including two each by Bryan and Bryan Griffith.
The first two innings were scoreless as Hall’s Mark Carpenter worked out of a pair of jams and Wood struck out six of the first seven batters he faced.
In the top of the third, the Hornets got on the board three times. With one out, Richie Wood was hit by a pitch. He then swiped second, the first of his three stolen bases in the game. Griffith singled him home, taking second on a late throw to the plate. After a wild pitch moved him to third and Zach Young walked, Dustin Tinkler drove in the run with a grounder to first. Carpenter then hit Travis Wood and walked Korey Hunter to load the bases. Dustin Easterly followed with a grounder that was booted at short allowing Young to score the third run.
In the fourth, Richie Wood was hit by a pitch again. This time, he swiped second and third before scoring on Young’s two-out single to right.
Hall threatened to score in the fifth when Wood issued a lead-off walk to Corey Woods. An errant pickoff throw allowed Woods to take second then a passed ball brought him to third. But Wood struck out the side to leave him there.
The Hornets took any remaining mystery out of the outcome in the top of the sixth, scoring five times. Griffith’s one-out double got things going. He scored when Young’s grounder to short drew a wild throw to first. Walks to Travis Wood and Andrew Moseley loaded the bags with two down. Easterly then hit a fly to right that was dropped. Three runs scored and, moments later, Bryan singled to cap the inning.
In the seventh, Morgan Garner led off with a single and eventually scored when James Leigh’s two-out grounder to first was misplayed, making it 10-0.
