Oran blanks Advance behind Parker Bryant’s 10 K’s

Advance - Behind the right arm of sophomore Parker Bryant on the mound, the Oran Eagles pounded out 10 runs on 10 hits that lead to a 10-0 shutout of the Hornets Thursday at Westfield Park in Advance.

The Hornet's offense just couldn't solve the wizardry of Bryant, who struck out 10 batters and allowed only two hits in 6 innings of work. Bryant did allow three free passes but limited the damage by getting weak ground balls or lazy pop flies.

“Parker (Bryant) was really good,” Oran coach Joe Bickings said. “We knew coming into the season that Kolten (Payne) would be our number one starter so we had to figure out who would be our number two starter and Bryant has stepped up to be the number two but we still have plenty of good arms like Gabe Dirnberger and Carson Kern and Nolan Loper have all thrown well for us so far.”

Loper would relieve Bryant in the final inning and sat the Hornets down 1-2-3 to end the contest, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

Advance received both of its hits on offense behind senior leadoff hitter Elijah Ford. Ford led the home half of the first inning off with a single up through the middle and later singled sharply to right field off of Bryant in the third frame.

Those would be the only two knocks the Hornets would tally in the game.

“We did not play well,” Advance coach Neil Johnson said after the game. “We came out flat and we didn't hit. Kudos to Oran as they came out with intensity and put the ball in play and Bryant was a stud on the mound for them today. Overall, we struggled on offense and on defense.”

The Hornets scuffled on the mound as well giving the Eagles a total of seven walks in the game with starting pitcher Jed Garner strapped for the loss. Garner pitched five innings and gave up five runs on eight hits while striking out three.

“We loaded in the batter’s box late today,” Johnson said. “You have to load early against pitchers like Bryant who throws harder and we didn't do that. It wasn't our best performance but at the same time we know what kind of team we are and we’ll get better and learn from this.”

Oran was led offensively by Brendan Campbell (2 hits), Dirnberger (2 hits) and Bryant (2 hits). Luke Peterson drove in three runs for the Eagles, who now have won six in a row.

“We lost two games earlier in the season,” Bickings said. “Both games were to state-ranked Portageville and Valle Catholic and we tend to get everybody’s ace pitcher so facing programs like that and getting those types of pitchers will just make us better in the long run.”

The Eagles (7-2) will host Bloomfield on Friday at 4:30 p.m. while Advance (3-4) will host Dexter at 4:30 p.m. at Westfield Park in Advance.