By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
BRYANT – After beating Lake Hamilton 9-2 in the opening round of the 2012 Arkansas American Legion AA state tournament on Friday, Lonoke’s Remington Bullets fell 6-2 to Hot Springs Lakeside on Saturday.
Facing elimination on Sunday, Lonoke came from behind to beat Harrison 8-6 at Bishop Park to stay alive in the tournament.
On Saturday, Lonoke struggled both in the field and at the plate as Lakeside led 6-0 after four innings of play. Lakeside put the game out of the reach in the fourth, scoring four runs in the inning. Lonoke tried to rally in the fifth, but could onlymanage two runs to set the final margin.
“We really just had a bad all-around game,” said Lonoke coach Steve Moore about the loss to Lakeside. “We didn’t hit the ball well. We got some runners on base in key positions and had opportunities to score runs, but we didn’t.”
Logan Derosier got the win for Lakeside with 12 strikeouts and three walks in the complete game effort. Catcher Deric Herring led Lonoke at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a RBI.
In the elimination game against Harrison, Lonoke scored a run in the first and second inning to take a 2-0 lead. Chris Hart started on the hill for the Bullets and held Harrison scoreless through the first four innings. But in the top of the fifth, Harrison scored six runs to grab its first lead of the day. Hart gave up four of those runs on six hits.
“Chris Hart pitched a great ball game up until that fifth inning,” Moore said. “I think he got a little tired by that inning. He wasn’t at our game Saturday. He played quarterback in a seven-on-seven tournament Saturday and turned around and pitched Sunday. So, I think by the fifth inning he was a little worn down.”
Lane Moore came in to relieve Guy Halbert later in the inning after Harrison scored its final two runs. In the bottom of the fifth, Lonoke matched Harrison’s run total with six runs of its own to grab the lead for good.
Herring, Halbert and Moore all singled to left field to start the inning, and with the bases loaded, Hart hit a line drive double to left field. Herring and Halbert scored on the play to cut Harrison’s lead to two.
The next at bat, Madison James hit a base-clearing triple to right field to tie the score at six.
Christian James walked one batter later, and Reid McKenzie drove in Madison James on a ground ball to shortstop. With two outs in the inning, Christian James scored on a RBI-double to left field from leadoff hitter Shane Pepper to make the score 8-6.
Moore picked up the win for Lonoke with three strikeouts and no walks in two and one-third innings of work.
Moore led Lonoke at the plate as well, going 3 for 4 with a RBI. Hart and Pepper each went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, while Herring, Halbert, and the James brothers each had a hit.
Lonoke will continue its pursuit of the AA state championship Friday against Hot Springs Village. The elimination game will start at 4:30 p.m. at the Bryant High School field.
