Patterson delivers on mound as Blacksox advance

BRYANT -- Blake Patterson's pitching effort Monday night has the Bryant Blacksox on the verge of an American Legion state tournament title.

Patterson allowed 4 hits, struck out 7 and walked 2 in 8 innings as the Blacksox earned a 5-1 victory over the Mountain Home Lockerroom in the winners bracket final.

Bryant (39-4) will play Texarkana in tonight's late game. Regardless of tonight's outcome, the Blacksox will advance to Wednesday's championship game. Mountain Home (25-13) will play Jonesboro (26-15) in an elimination game at 5:30 tonight.

"That was an unbelievable performance," Bryant Coach Darren Hurt said of Patterson. "But you know what, he's done that all year. You give him the ball, and he just goes out and competes. But tonight was special. We stretched him out a little, and he went out and had a great performance."

After scoring 27 runs in its first two state tournament games, Bryant rode Patterson's arm and a salty defense to win Monday. The Blacksox turned three double plays and first baseman Hayden Lessenberry made a nifty stop and throw to Patterson at first to nab Austin Gardner to end the eighth inning.

Patterson retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced, and he held Mountain Home hitless in his final three innings. Nate Rutherford pitched the ninth inning to close out the victory.

"It was all about the catcher," Patterson said, complementing teammate Trey Breeding. "He called a great game. It was pretty intense out there tonight."

Brandon Warner drove in two runs and both Drew Tipton and Lessenberry had three hits to lead Bryant's hitters. Warner drove in a run with a ground ball in the third and singled in an insurance run in the ninth. Tipton doubled and singled twice. Lessenberry ripped three singles, including a run-scoring hit in the third.

"We got what we wanted early," Hurt said of his team scoring four runs in the second and third innings. "We talked about getting an early lead and we got it. [Mountain Home pitcher Josh Cathey] did a great job. He kept us off balance, and we probably hit more ground balls than we've ever hit. I got to give him credit for that."

Cathey gave up 10 hits in going the distance. He struck out four and walked five. Only three of the five runs he allowed were earned and he managed to keep Trevor Ezell hitless. Ezell had hit five extra-base hits during Bryant's first two games of the state tournament. On Monday, Ezell was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, a walk and a run scored.

Gardner provided Mountain Home with its lone RBI. Kennedy Robinson reached on a fielder's choice in the third inning, moved to second on Skylar Culver's single and scored on Gardner's two-out single.

Mountain Home, however, never had another base runner to advance past second base.

Mountain Home's Kyle Stephens, who was 8 for 8 at the plate in his two previous games, was 1 for 4 on Monday, getting a single to start the ninth.

Bryant 022 000 001 -- 5 10 1

Mountain Home 001 000 000 -- 1 5 2

Patterson, Rutherford (9) and Breeding. Cathey and Ninemire. W -- Patterson. L -- Cathey.

TEXARKANA RAZORBACKS 9, NORTH LITTLE ROCK COLTS 8

Kyle Duncan slugged two home runs, including the game-winner in the seventh inning, as the Razorbacks (30-11) eliminated North Little Rock (17-8).

Duncan belted a three-run home run in the third inning and then broke an 8-8 tie in the seventh with his second blast. Duncan's home runs were only the second and third of the tournament. Duncan was 2 for 3 with five RBI.

Both of his home runs sailed over the right-field wall.

Jake Alexander was 4 for 5 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. He is 8 for 12 with 3 RBI in three state tournament games.

Texarkana's 10-hit attack backed the pitching of Nathan Stubber, who tossed a complete game, striking out five while walking two and hitting two batters.

Stubber survived a six-run, seven-hit fifth inning. It appeared he would out of the inning with no damage when Evan Johnson hit a two-out, bases-loaded fly ball to center field, but outfielder Hudson Hopkins slipped, allowing the ball to fall for a three-run double.

Will Hopkins, Michael Knight, Derrick Flowers and Jovani Gonzales all followed with RBI singles, giving North Little Rock a 6-4 lead.

Will Hopkins and Flowers each produced RBI hits in the seventh inning, but Stubber did not give up any hits in the final two innings and retired the final six batters he faced in order.

Hudson Hopkins singled, doubled and scored twice for Texarkana. Will Hopkins, Knight, Flowers and Dylan Huckaby had two hits each for North Little Rock.

Texarkana may have lost infielder Nick Myers for the tournament. Myers was taken out by a hard slide during the third inning. Catcher Landon Russo, who was injured in Sunday's game when he was hit in the neck by a pitched ball, did not play on Monday but is expected back in uniform for tonight's game.

North Little Rock 000 060 200 -- 8 11 1

Texarkana 103 022 10x -- 9 10 2

Hopkins, Johnson (5), Weigle (8) and Gonzales, Partlow (8). Stubber and White. W -- Stubber. L -- Johnson. HR -- Texarkana: Kyle Duncan 2.

JONESBORO RICEMEN 9

CABOT CENTENNIAL 8 (12)

Tucker Hydrick, who drove in the winning run in Saturday's victory over Fort Smith Kerwins, doubled with two outs in the 12th inning to score Austen Martin and give the Ricemen an elimination-game victory over Cabot.

Jonesboro squandered a 7-0 lead after five innings, but rallied for a run in the ninth to force extra innings. Cabot was attempting to intentionally walk Mason Gibson, but Gavin Tillery left a pitch too close to the plate and Gibson lined a single to right that scored Hydrick, who led off the inning with a single.

Cabot had been held to four singles through the first six innings and trailed 7-0. But an error and RBI singles by Lee Sullivan and Ryan Logan cut Jonesboro's advantage to 7-4.

Cabot also scored four runs in the eighth, getting another RBI single from Sullivan and a two-run single by Connor Vocque, who would later score on a wild pitch to give Cabot an 8-7 lead.

Martin started Jonesboro's game-winning rally with a one-out double to right, sliding into second just under a tag. Two batters later, Hydrick drove a pitch over left fielder Grant Bell's head.

Jonesboro picked up two-run hits from Gibson and Nick Brown in the third inning and a two-run double by Dillon Groves in the fourth.

Tyler Cole picked up the victory. Logan started the game for Cabot, pitched four innings and returned to the mound to start the 12th.

Cabot 000 000 440 000 -- 8 16 1

Jonesboro 004 210 001 001 -- 9 16 4

Logan, Hicks (5), Vinson (7), Tillery (9), Logan (12) and Bulice. Gibson, Cole (8) and Groves. W -- Cole. L -- Logan.

Sports on 07/29/2014

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