TRI-LAKES AREA — Hundreds of Hornet fans and other city residents gathered at the Center of Bryant at Bishop Park on Wednesday night to recognize the players and coaches of the Bryant High School baseball and softball teams, who brought home the 7A State Championships in their sports last weekend.
The Hornets baseball team won its second state title in three years with a win over the Rogers Heritage War Eagles 4-2 on May 18 at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville. The next day, the Lady Hornet softball team took the state championship for the third straight year and ended the team’s perfect season by defeating the Bentonville Lady Tigers 8-4 in Bogle Park, also in Fayetteville.
Baseball coach Kirk Bock said he is proud to be part of the winning ways at Bryant High School.
“These are some good kids; they did a great job,” Bock said. “They had been winning games long before I got here. I am just glad to be here when these seniors were playing.”
Bock said the Bryant team has established a good system in which the players and coaches know their jobs and can win without him being in the dugout. That is exactly what happened when the coach was ejected from the quarterfinal game against the Fayetteville Bulldogs and was suspended for two games.
“I was out in the parking lot,” Bock said about the championship game. “Some people tried to get me to come into their box seats, but we don’t do things that way. I had confidence in the players and the coaches. They all had a job to do, and they did it.”
Junior relief pitcher Nate Rutherford was named the Most Valuable Player for the state tournament. After coming on in relief in the fourth, he pitched four scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing no hits and only one walk, to win the championship game. He also got the win in the semifinal game against Bentonville on May 14 with a complete game shutout.
Bock said Rutherford stepped up after Dylan Cross, who the coach called the team’s best pitcher, was lost for the last month of the season.
“Nate came in and picked up where Cross left off,” Bock said.
Cross was the designated hitter in the championship game.
Bock pointed out the play of three senior infielders, including first baseman Josh Pultro, who was a key hitter in the final game, and shortstop Ozzie Hurt. At the beginning of the season, Bock called Hurt “the best infielder I have ever coached.” Jordan Taylor played third base and also served as the team “go-to pitcher,” the coach said.
“When we needed to make a switch in the middle of an inning and get one or two hitters out, Taylor was the guy, with a breaking ball and sliders, but more importantly, a great mindset to do the job when the pressure was on,” Bock said.
Perhaps accomplishing an even greater feat were the Bryant Lady Hornets, who not only won their third consecutive 7A State Championship but finished the season and tournament with a perfect 34-0 record.
Bryant softball coach Debbie Clark said it was a very emotional week as her team played for the championship and their 38th consecutive victory.
“Here I am crying like a baby,” she told reporters after the game. “Our kids played so hard. They weren’t going to lie down, and they were playing to win. They are such leaders.”
Clark said she was also emotional during the game because the Bryant pitching ace, Payton Jenkins, was not able to be in the pitcher’s circle as the team won their last game.
Jenkins had injured her left knee in the semifinals a week before the Bentonville game and was only able to go one inning during the championship game on May 19. She once again gave way to freshman Jordan Williams, who stepped up as she had a week earlier and brought home a victory.
“Is that not a lot of growing up for her?” Clark said about Williams after the game. “She’s a lefty, which gives her a little bit of an advantage anyway, but facing a team like this, it puts a lot of pressure on her back.”
Bryant took a 2-0 lead in the first with a run-scoring single from senior center fielder Kayla Sory, followed by another run when Brittney Ball, running for Jenkins, who walked, scored on a sacrifice fly by senior shortstop Cassidy Wilson.
While Bentonville would go on to score four runs, the most allowed by the Lady Hornets all season, the Lady Tigers never were in serious contention as Bryant scored eight runs in the game.
Clark said she’ll remember the perfect season for a long time, but she also said she can’t help but be excited about the team’s future with a young pitcher like Williams.
Staff writer Wayne Bryan can be reached at (501) 244-4460 or wbryan@arkansasonline.com.
Tri-Lakes, Pages 131 on 05/27/2012