Bryant sweeps twinbill from Woodlawn
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
The core of the Woodlawn Outdoors AA American Legion team led the Woodlawn High School team to a 24-3 record, District and Regional championships and a bid to the Class AA State Tournament this spring. They were also one of the better teams in AA Legion last season.
So, it was no pushover that the Bryant Black Sox AAA team was facing in a doubleheader Sunday at Ashley Stadium.
Yet, the Sox swept the twinbill 10-5 and 12-1 to improve to 3-0 going into a showdown with Little Rock Oxford Printing on Tuesday.
Five different Bryant pitchers got some work in the two games and in only one inning was Woodlawn able to must much offense. In the opener, starter Michael McClellan set down the first eight he faced. Shane Aud’s single in the bottom of the third ended the string, but he was forced at second on a grounder to short by Brian Stover to end the inning.
Chris Sory, one of the top three pitchers on the 20-win Bryant High School team this spring, relieved in the fourth and struggled initially, giving up all five of Woodlawn’s runs. But, in the fifth, he worked around a single with the help of a doubleplay. And, when the Sox erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the inning, Sory was credited with the win.
Chance King then pitched a pair of scoreless innings — his first since last summer — to sew up the win.
The Sox bashed out 10 hits including a 3-for-3 performance from Beau Hamblin, who led the team in hitting last season. In Saturday’s opener against Bauxite, Hamblin singled and walked twice so, with Sunday’s three hits and a walk, Hamblin had reached base in each of his seven plate appearances to start the season.
Hamblin, in fact, scored the game’s first run. After he walked to start the bottom of the second, he reached second when, as he attempted to advance on a short passed ball, second baseman Daniel Stone failed to flag down the throw from catcher Chris Hyatt.
Two outs later, Derek Chambers pulled a single through the right side to bring Hamblin home.
In the third, Dustin Morris led off with a single that was misplayed in center, allowing him to reach second. With some aggressive baserunning, Morris moved to third on Michael McClellan’s bouncer to short. From there, he scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.
Matt Brown beat out an infield hit, took second on a passed ball, third on a single by Hamblin and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cody Graddy.
Woodlawn answered, however, with a rude greeting for Sory in the fourth. Justin Mills doubled and Kyle Lem drilled a home run to left-center. An infield hit by Zack Clement and a bunt single by Stone had two aboard. After Sory got Jonathan Davis to fly to center, Tyler Cash singled to load the bases.
A wild pitch brought Clement home as Sory fanned Hyatt. Aud then walked on a 3-2 delivery to load the bags again. Stover’s single made it 5-3.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth when a walk to Morris spelled the end of Clement’s duty on the mound for Woodlawn. Davis relieved but issued a walk to McClellan then a bloop single to Brown that jammed the sacks with Hamblin up next. He spanked a single to left to chase in two.
A bad-hop single for Graddy loaded the bases again for Cody Dreher. He singled to center and when it was misplayed, it cleared the bases, making it 8-5.
Dreher wound up on third and, after a walk to Chambers, White doubled him home. Chambers scored the seventh run of the inning on a grounder to third by Morris.
In the second game, Bryant again scored in every inning with an eight-run fourth providing the run-rule margin. Kevin Littleton got the win, working the first three innings on the mound. He allowed three hits and walked one. Dreher relieved and fanned the side in the fourth. A bad-hop single by Hyatt in the bottom of the fifth was followed by a wild pitch then a strikeout. Davis then grounded into the hole at short for a single and when shortstop Scott Yant delivered a late wild throw to first, Hyatt scored to break up the shutout. Yant made up for the error, however, by fielding a grounder off the bat of the next batter Kyle Outlaw and throwing him out to end the game.
Offensively, the Sox pounded out 12 hits including two each by Morris, Lewis and Littleton.
Stone started for Woodlawn but walked two in the first and gave way to Outlaw. Graddy greeted the new hurler with an RBI single and, an out later, Lewis knocked in another run with a base hit to left.
In the second, Dreher singled, advanced on a passed ball, took third on a shot to first by Brad Chism, who was robbed of a hit on the play, then scored on a grounder to short by Sory.
In the third, Morris cracked a double to left-center and eventually scored on another two-out RBI single by Lewis.
Meanwhile, Littleton worked around a walk and a two-out single in the first, an error and a hit in the second and an infield hit in the third. In fact, Littleton really helped himself with a splendid defensive play in the third. With Mills at first, Outlaw squared to bunt. A soft liner to the left of the mound resulted and Littleton, with a head-long dive, speared the ball in the air. He then threw to first to double up Mills. Kirby Hill followed with a slow roller towards third that Sory made a splendid play on. His throw to first was in the dirt but Lewis dug it out for another eye-catching play to end the inning.
Bryant’s eight-run fourth began with back-to-back doubles from Littleton and Chism. Sory singled and, after a pitching change, Yant walked to load the bases. Morris slapped a two-run single to right to make it 7-0.
An out later, McClellan ripped an RBI double. With two down, singled by Jordan Davis and Littleton plated two more. Littleton’s came moments after he appeared to sock a long homer down the left-field line. It was, however, ruled a foul ball. His single came on the next pitch.
An error extended the inning and brought Davis home. Walks to Sory and Yant forced in the final run.
