LITTLE ROCK — Any chance Little Rock had in advancing to the final of the RBI Southwest Regional wilted in the brutal July heat Saturday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field, but the host team left knowing that it wasn’t the pushover it was a year ago.
Jackson, Miss., had 12 hits - half of them for doubles - in taking a 12-2 victory over Little Rock in the senior boys division. Earlier in the day, Little Rock held off St. Louis 12-10 for its first victory in its two years as the host team.
A year ago, St. Louis handed Little Rock a 15-0 loss.
“We were able to compete this year,” Little Rock Coach Harold Joyner said. “It’s been fun. It’s been a good season.To come in here and win a game, that’s big.”
Defending champion Houston and Jackson will play for the regional championship at 11 a.m. today at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. The winner will advance to the RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) national tournament in Jupiter, Fla.
Little Rock sent 12 batters to the plate in a nine-run fourth inning against St. Louis. Little Rock Hall’s Tyrrell Garrett drove in two runs with one of the host team’s seven singles during the inning.
Jamal Mosbey and Cammeron Polite also had run-scoring hits during the inning. Elijah Blackwell drove in a run with a sacrifice fly during athree-run first inning.
“We hit the ball well,” Joyner said. “That’s one thing we did do.”
Little Rock also had eight hits in the loss to Jackson, but left nine runners stranded.
Garrett and Chase Miller each had run-scoring doubles in the second game. Mason Gibbons also had a double against Jackson.
The Mississippi team, however, countered with big hits. Second baseman Colby Michael drove in three runs with a single and a double while outfielder Wayne Johnson and third baseman ZackBird each had two doubles.
“Playing back-to-back games in the heat didn’t help us,” Joyner said. “But overall, with the young players we had, I think we did quite well. A lot of them will be back next season and we get to host this tournament for another year. We’re excited about that.”
JUNIOR BOYS MCALLEN, TEXAS, 16, LITTLE ROCK 2
Little Rock’s junior boys finished 0-4 in tournament play after losing by a combined 34-4 in Saturday’s two games.
McAllen pitcher Memo Beltran struck out 10 batters and limited Little Rock tofour singles. Earlier in the day, Houston rolled to an 18-2 victory over Little Rock.
David Griffin and Calvin Wilbon drove in the two runs for Little Rock in the loss to McAllen.
Arlington, Texas, (3-0-1) and Memphis (2-0-2) will play for the junior boys title, with the game starting at 8:30 a.m. today at Dickey-Stephens Park.
RBI results
SENIOR BOYS (16-18) TEAM W-L Houston............. 3-0 Jackson, Miss. .. 2-1 Little Rock ......... 1-2 St. Louis ............ 0-3 Saturday’s results Little Rock 12, St. Louis 10 Jackson, Miss., 12,
Little Rock 2 Houston 12, St. Louis 2 TODAY’S
CHAMPIONSHIP at Dickey-Stephens Park Houston vs.
Jackson, Miss., 11 a.m.
JUNIOR BOYS (13-15) TEAM W-L-T Arlington, Texas 3-0-1 Memphis ........2-0-2 Houston..........2-1-1 McAllen, Texas .. 2-2 St. Louis ............ 1-3 Little Rock ......... 0-4 Saturday’s results Arlington, Texas, 3,
Memphis 3 (tie)Memphis 11, Houston 11 (tie) McAllen, Texas 16,
Little Rock 2 Houston 18, Little Rock 2 McAllen, Texas 11, St. Louis 7 Arlington, Texas 10, St. Louis 7 TODAY’S
CHAMPIONSHIP at Dickey-Stephens Park Memphis vs.
Arlington, Texas, 8:30 a.m.
SOFTBALL TEAM W-L Houston............. 1-1 Little Rock ......... 1-1 St. Louis ............ 1-1 Saturday’s results Little Rock 2, Houston 1 Little Rock 15, St. Louis 10 Houston 8, St. Louis 0 TODAY’S
CHAMPIONSHIP at Fair High School Little Rock vs.
Houston, 9 a.m.
Sports, Pages 31 on 07/25/2010