Bryant, Ark., got the job done.
The Southwest Region champions defeated St. Mary?s County, the Maryland champs with a 3-0 shutout at the Ripken Baseball Academy?s Fenway Park field in Aberdeen Thursday and advanced to the first round of the playoffs in the Cal Ripken World Series.
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The Bryant players and coaches knew they had to win and keep the runs down to advance to the next round.
In the American Division, Hilo was 3-1, and with both Bryant (3-1) and Kennewick, Wash., winning Thursday, the tie-breaker came down to runs allowed.
Hilo and Bryant, who have only given up five and six runs, respectively, will move on, and Kennewick has to head home after allowing 16 runs in the tournament.
“It is a huge win,” said Bryant manager Wayne Taylor. “We went out and did the only thing we could control and that was to win.”
Bryant and St. Mary?s (0-4) went scoreless through four innings.
“We recognized early in our batting practice today that the kids were just going through the motions,” Taylor said. “They were flat, and that carried over to the game.”
In the top of the fifth inning, Bryant catcher Dylan Cross changed that.
Cross noticed that St. Mary?s catcher Josh Tayman was not checking him at third base when he threw the ball back to the pitcher.
Cross broke on a throw back to the mound and slid into home, giving Bryant what turned out to be the winning run.
Cross was named Bryant?s game MVP for a 1-for-3 day at the plate and for picking off three runners.
“I just see the kids sleeping on the bases,” Cross said. “They just weren?t even paying attention, and I took advantage of it.”
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Bryant starting pitcher Jordan Taylor re-entered the game to close out the win.
“I was tired in the third,” Jordan Taylor said.
“Landon Pickett came in and relieved me. I was hoping he would finish the game, but his arm was hurting. I wanted to keep it low. When we played Washington, I left the ball up and they killed it.”
Scoreboard
Results: Thursday
» Bryant, Arkansas 3, St. Mary?s County 0
» Kennewick, Washington 9, Newtown, Connecticut 7
» Bronx, N.Y. 3. Mineral Area, Missouri 1
» Satsuma, Alabama 11, Hickory Fountain Green 1
» Dominican Republic 1, Republic of Korea 0
» Australia vs. Mexico*
*Results were not available before deadline
Friday?s playoff schedule
» Australia vs. Dominican, 12:05 p.m.
» Bryant, Ark. vs. Lexington, Ky., 2:35 p.m.
» Canada vs. Mexico, 5:05 p.m.
» Hilo, Hawaii vs. Satsuma, Ala., 7 p.m.
