BUCS TAKE 3 OF 4 AT LAREDO
Buccaneers pound 15 hits in 11-2 win
FRIDAY
LAREDO, Texas – A seven-run seventh inning led the Blinn baseball team to an 11-2 victory in Friday’s doubleheader against Laredo College.
Even better, it snapped the Buccaneers’ five-game losing streak.
The Buccaneers pounded 15 hits in the win as six players had multi-hit games.
Laredo took the nightcap 8-7 in 11 innings.
Holding a slim 4-2 lead heading into the seventh of Game 1, sophomore Nolan Brown scored on a passed ball before Stephen Stuart launched a two-run triple to center field. Jager Toffan hit an RBI single to score Stuart.
The Bucs weren’t finished.
Two batters later, Conner Smith hit a two-run triple of his own to score Toffan and Reed Robinson to give the Bucs a 10-2 lead. Freshman Cullen Jozwiak made it an 11-2 game with an RBI ground out to second base in the next at- bat.
Jose Reyes had a three-hit performance, and James Duval, Stuart, Toffan, Robinson and Smith each had two this. Smith drove in three runs.
Even when the game was tight, sophomore ace Robbie Dickey kept the Palominos in check for seven innings. Dickey tossed the complete game, allowing six hits, two runs scored and striking out three.
Blinn held the advantage for much of the second game, leading 7-2 in the bottom of the sixth, before Laredo mounted a comeback. A slew of miscues defensively cost the Bucs five runs and their lead. Tied at 7 after nine innings, Laredo scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 11th to earn the split.
The Palominos and Buccaneers close out their four-game series here tomorrow with a noon doubleheader.
For more information on Blinn baseball, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
Brenner strikes out 10 as Buccaneers take series
SATURDAY
LAREDO, Texas – With a Region XIV Conference series win on the line, sophomore pitcher Keith Brenner dominated.
The right-hander from Longview tossed eight innings of one-hit ball as the Blinn baseball team swept the Laredo Palominos here Saturday.
After the Buccaneers held off a late Laredo rally in Game 1, 6-5, Brenner struck out 10 as the Bucs won the latter contest 3-1 to close out the series. Brenner (3-3) had a no-hitter going until the bottom of the sixth, when a Laredo one-out single ended the no-hit bid.
Blinn’s (25-20, 18-14 Region XIV) offense helped the right-hander secure the win with a two-run sixth that included an RBI single by sophomore Nolan Brown that scored Cullen Jozwiak. Brown extended the Bucs’ lead in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly that scored Jose Reyes to make it a 3-1 game.
Brown was 1-for-2 with two RBI in the game, and freshman Reed Robinson had two hits.
Sophomore Cole Doherty earned his first save of the season after tossing a scoreless ninth.
Blinn had to withstand a late comeback in Game 1. After leading 6-0 after the top half of the sixth, Laredo scored five unanswered runs in the final two frames to cut the Bucs’ lead to one.
Freshman Seth Ballew tossed six innings of four-hit, three-run ball. He struck out six and walked four in the win. Ryan Skoruppa and Dillon Mazzaccoli closed out the final inning.
Brown had two hits and scored two runs. Cullen Gassaway was 1-for-3 with two RBI, including a two-run home run in the top of the first that gave the Bucs an early advantage.
Blinn split Friday’s series opener with Laredo, winning Game 1 11-2 before dropping the nightcap 8-7 in 12 innings.
The Bucs won the season series over Laredo 7-1.
For more information on Blinn baseball, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
(Story & photos courtesy: Matt Keyser, Blinn Information)