The Sport Shop Black Sox of Bryant and the North Little Rock Colts took turns piling up runs Thursday night as they split a doubleheader at Bryant High School Field. In the opener, the Sox built an 8-2 lead on the way to an 11-7 victory. In the nightcap, the Colts busted out 14-0 before settling for a 14-4 win in five innings.
Bryant, now 8-11, has three more games before beginning play in the AA American Legion Zone 4 tournament at Hot Springs Lakeside. They host Maumelle for a doubleheader on Friday, July 11, then finished at home with Clarksville on Tuesday, July 15.
In the victory, the Sox were paced by Hunter Oglesby who drove in four runs with a pair of doubles, going 2 for 3. Weston Jones knocked in three while Cameron Coleman and Nick Kehrees finished with two hits apiece. Coleman scored four times and Daniel Darbonne crossed the plate three times.
Joey Cates picked up the win on the mound with relief help from Colin Welch. Only two of North Little Rock’s seven runs were earned.
The Colts scored first. In the opening inning, Christian Goshen was hit by a pitch with one out, stole second and scored on a two-out, two-strike single by J.J. Askins.
But Cates retired nine of the next 10 batters as the Sox surged.
They tied it in the home first when Coleman, fresh from a hot week at a Junior Legion tournament in Memphis, drove a single on a line past the ear of Colts’ starter Owen Stuckey. Kehrees pulled a base hit into left and, after Oglesby sacrificed, Jones picked up the RBI with a grounder to second.
Caleb Chaffin started a four-run second inning with a single to left. Ashton Shropshire sacrificed Welch, on as a courtesy runner, to second. He hustled home from there when Darbonne’s squibber to first was misplayed. Coleman belted a double to the gap in left center then followed Darbonne home on the second single to left for Kehrees, making it 4-1.
On a late throw to the plate, Kehrees motored into second so when Oglesby cracked a shot off the base of the fence in left, he scored easily.
Tyler Tucker relieved for the Colts and retired the first five batters he faced before running into trouble in the fourth.
North Little Rock trimmed a run off the 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth. Tucker singled, Bennie Ralston walked and Blaine Miller (one of two Blaine Millers on the Colts’ roster) added a base hit to load the bags with two out. A strike away from fanning Jake Morris, Cates hit him with a pitch to force in the run and bring up the top of the Colts’ lineup.
But Cates got Jordan Reed to pop to Oglesby at first to keep it 5-2.
The Sox answered with a three-run uprising in the home half of the frame to re-establish their advantage. Darbonne reached on a third-strike wild pitch to start the inning. He stole second then went to third when Coleman’s grounder to second base was booted. Tucker retired the next two but Jones came through in the clutch, lacing a drive into the left-field corner for a two-run double.
Jones took third on a late relay and, after Cates drew a walk, the duo worked a double steal to make it 8-2.
A pair of walks and an error produced pair of runs without a hit for North Little Rock in the top of the fifth. One run scored on a wild pitch, another on a passed ball before Cates struck out Ryan Maloch, finishing on a positive note before Bryant manager Hunter Mayall turned to Welch to relieve.
Tucker’s sacrifice fly made it 8-5 but, counting that flyball, Welch retired six of the first seven batters he faced until, with one out in the seventh, Askins singled.
In the meantime, the Sox tacked on three more runs with a two-out uprising in the bottom of the fifth. Darbonne’s single up the middle got things started. He swiped second then Coleman walked and Kehrees was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Oglesby who cleared them with a shot to the wall in left-center.
So, it was 11-5 when the Colts came up in the seventh. Askins singled to right with one out and Maloch walked. Chance Harger was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Welch got Ralston to fly to shallow center and appeared to be out of the jam when he induced a groundball from Blaine Miller. But an error allowed two runs to score.
But, with runners at the corners, Welch got Morris to line out to Kehrees at short to end the game.
The second contest was all Colts for four innings. They scored five runs in the second, three in the third and five more in the fourth.
Ralston, Miller and Derek Howell had the Sox shut out on two hits to that point. Cates had singled in the second and Jones double in the fourth.
In the fifth, the Colts added a run then Bryant made a bid to spoil the run-rule. With one down, Noah Easterling reached on an error. Welch came on as a courtesy runner and stole second. Darbonne cracked a single up the middle to plate the first run.
A walk to Coleman kept the inning going and, with two down, Oglesby plugged the gap in right center for a two-run triple. And when the relay got past the third baseman, he too was able to score.
Jones singled but Howell got the final out to end the game.
Stuckey led the Colts with three hits and three runs batted in.Tucker and Howell each had two knocks.
