BUCS SPLIT SATURDAY TWINBILL WITH ALVIN
Buccaneers beat Alvin 8-5 in series finale
The Blinn baseball team walked off Leroy Dreyer Field Saturday and took a big sigh of relief.
The Buccaneers staved off a Region XIV Conference series sweep with an 8-5 win over the Alvin Dolphins Saturday. The Bucs lost Saturday’s opener 2-1 after the Dolphins took both games on Friday.
“It feels like we just won 10 games,” Blinn (11-8, 4-4) coach Harvey McIntyre said. “You would have liked to ended the day with a series split, but you walk off the field with a win and you get the taste of a loss out of your mouth moving forward.”
The 14th-ranked Bucs jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning of the second game, thanks to some help an Alvin miscue with the bases loaded. Sophomore Cullen Gassaway hit what looked to be a routine ground ball to the shortstop, but a botched throw to second base brought Jager Toffan and Nolan Brown home.
The error proved detrimental to the Dolphins as Stephen Stuart, Hunter Lehman and Jacob Sarabia each drove in runs in the following three at-bats.
“We put that first game behind us and really came out and swung the bats well in that first inning,” McIntyre said.
Stuart padded Blinn’s lead with a solo home run to lead off the third. He was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Lehman was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Alvin cut Blinn’s lead to 7-5 in the sixth, but relief pitcher Christian Thames tossed four innings of no-run, one-hit ball to end a threat of a Dolphin comeback.
“Christian was unbelievable for us tonight,” McIntyre said.
Blinn held a 1-0 lead in Game 1 when a Brown double scored Toffan, but Alvin responded with a run in the fifth. Alvin’s leadoff double that inning was the only hit sophomore pitcher Keith Brenner allowed in the game. He tossed 5 2-3 innings and stuck out four and walked four.
Alvin took advantage of a two-out walk and hit by pitch in the seventh for the victory.
“I feel good about the way we played today,” McIntyre said. “We left some things out there in Game 1, but the guys really responded in Game 2 and it’s good to end the series with a victory.”
For more information on Blinn baseball, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
(Story & photos courtesy: Matt Keyser, Blinn Information)