Featured photo of Kade Bryant by Bill Battle, Washington Missourian
The Bossier Phillies are headed to the American Legion Baseball World Series.
Bossier defeated Tupelo, Miss., 5-3 in the championship game of the Mid-South Regional tournament in Washington, Mo.
That victory came just after Benton senior Kade Bryant pitched a no-hitter in a 2-0 victory over Bryant, Ark., that advanced the Phillies to the title game.
The World Series is Aug. 15-20 in Shelby, N.C.
Leading Tupelo 5-2 going into the bottom of the seventh, Bossier had to withstand a nail-biting charge.
Tupelo loaded the bases with two outs and scored a run on a walk. But Beckville, Texas, senior Cade Moore induced a grounder to second base. Hudson Brignac, a 2024 Benton graduate, tagged the runner out as he slid past the base, ending the game.
Glenbrook senior Easton Sanders went 6 2/3 innings. The Louisiana Tech commit struck out nine and walked one. He had to come out of the game after 105 pitches because of the pitch-count rule.
Brignac went 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBI. Bryant went 2-for-3 with an RBI-double. Northwood’s Tucker McCabe had a single. Beckville, Texas senior Britain Pipes had an RBI.
Bossier got off to a great start with three runs in the top of the first. The Phillies added single runs in the third and fifth.
In the earlier game, Benton’s Bryant threw 75 pitches. He struck out six and walked only one. Bryant faced 22 batters, one over the limit.
Benton senior Jackson Jones went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Benton senior Griffin Sibley had an RBI-double.
The Phillies scored both runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Blayne McFerren, a 2024 North DeSoto graduate, led off with a single and Sibley followed with his double. Jones then brought Sibley home with a single.