SHERIDAN -- What looked to be a remarkable victory turned into a stinging loss.
Lakeside, playing Bryant Friday without four starters, built a four-run lead before allowing 10 runs in the last two innings. The Black Sox went on to a 12-6 win, earning a spot in Saturday night's championship game in the American Legion Class 2A tournament.
Originally scheduled for an afternoon start, Lakeside and River Valley Tropics played an elimination game Saturday evening, the winner to face Bryant 30 minutes aferward. River Valley eliminated Sheridan 10-6 in Friday's last game.
Earlier Friday, Bryant jolted Lakeside with six runs in the sixth.
"We had to get five outs before they scored five runs. That didn't happen," Lakeside coach Leighton Hardin said Saturday.
The first two batters reached base on a single and one-out error. The Black Sox added four straight hits, including Jordan Gentry's three-run double and Christian Harp's two-run single for the tying and go-ahead runs.
They added four runs in the seventh, Harp driving in two more with a line drive to left field that skipped by Race Tittle's glove.
Bryant, which scored two unearned runs off starter Jon Youngblood in the second, had nine of its 14 hits in its last two at-bats, but Hardin thought his team could have limited the damage.
"We've just got to play better defense," he said. "There were some balls we should have caught in the outfield, and we should have made some other plays. It kind of snowballed on us."
Youngblood held the Black Sox hitless for three innings before allowing four in the sixth. He was relieved by Kyle Lightsey, who got the last two outs but threw six straight balls to start the seventh and was relieved by Brandon Hall.
Bryant starter Harp went 4 1-3 innings after starter Joey Cates was hit in the head by Colton West's hard one-hooper. In a fearful sight, the ball caromed over catcher Gentry's outreached glove.
Cates was able to turn his head enough to avoid an apprent critical injury. He walked off the field with assistance before being being taken to a Benton hospital.
After giving up Caleb Lloyd's RBI single in the third and Hall's run-scoring triple in the fourth, Hall coming home on an errant pickoff throw, Harp held the Rams scoreless on three hits in the last three innings.
"He was a big part of our win," Bryant coach Hunter Mayall said. "He was a little shaky at first but settled in and did a great job."
Harp retired five of his last six batters after Reece Nickles's infield single in the sixth. Zac Melguin, filling in for usual starting catcher Erick Aguirre, led off the seventh with his second hit of the game.
West, replacing Johnathan Barmore in right field, went two for three and Melugin two for four. Fill-ins had six of Lakeside's nine hits, Lloyd going one for two with a walk and two RBI.
"(West) hit the ball well. Zac hit the ball well," Hardin said. "The guys that have been there have to hit a pitcher like (Harp)."
Aguirre, Barmore, left fielder Colton O'Keefe and pitcher/third baseman Andrew Spakes are on family vacations scheduled before the tournament was changed to a two-weekend format.
Sports on 08/02/2015