By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Centennial Bank junior American Legion team hammered Benton-Everett Infiniti 11-1 Monday at Brian Wade Conrade Memorial Field. The five-inning, run-rule shortened game saw Cabot’s Ty Cyr go the distance on the mound. He gave up six hits and zero earned runs with no strikeouts and one walk.
Cabot took the early lead with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Brenden Sheldon hit a leadoff single to shallow center field to start the inning. Bobby Joe Duncan then doubled to the power alley in right-center to put runners in scoring position. Logan Gilbertson grounded out to second base and scored Sheldon on the play. Dillon Thomas singled to score Duncan on the next at-bat. Brett Brockinton grounded out to third and moved Thomas into scoring position before Dylan Billingsley singled to center field to drive in the final run of the inning.
Cabot sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the second inning. The big inning started with a leadoff triple by Cyr, and scored on a single by nine-hole hitter Skylar Weidman. Sheldon and Duncan made it four-straight base hits, with Duncan’s shot scoring Weidman to make the score 5-0. Gilbertson flew out to deep right field to score Sheldon from third and record the first out.
Thomas walked to put two runners on base and Brockinton singled down the third-base line to score Duncan.
Billingsley reached on an error at third base that also allowed Thomas to score. Will Jerry then hit a base-clearing, two-RBI triple that gave Cabot an 11-0 lead.
Benton got its lone run in the top of the third. Leadoff hitter Braden Carman and Westyn Buchanan got back-to-back singles to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position with one out, but Benton couldn’t advance on a hard grounder to third that was fielded cleanly by Thomas for the out at first. But an error by Thomas on the next play allowed Carman to score.
Sheldon and Duncan each went 2 for 3 at the plate. Duncan added a double and a run batted in, and both players scored two runs. Gilbertson went 1 for 3 with a double and two RBIs. Thomas went 1 for 2 with two runs scored and one RBI. Billingsley also went 1 for 2 and finished with a pair of RBIs.
The win raises junior Centennial Bank’s already impressive record to 13-2. It played North Little Rock at home on Tuesday after Leader deadlines, and will host Heber Springs at 6 p.m. Thursday.
