BUC BASEBALL GOES 3-1 IN HOME TOURNEY
SATURDAY
Buccaneers sweep opening day of Blinn Tournament
Robbie Dickey gave the Blinn baseball team everything it asked from him against the fifth-ranked Navarro Bulldogs Saturday.
And coach Harvey McIntyre couldn’t be more impressed.
Dickey threw a one-hitter, struck out 15 and allowed one run as the Buccaneers rallied to beat the Bulldogs 2-1 and sweep the opening day of the Blinn Tournament.
The Bucs beat New Mexico Junior College 10-1 in the tournament opener.
“Watching him tonight was something special,” McIntyre said of Dickey. “The thing about it is he struggled in the first inning—he threw 31 pitches. But he found it, like the good ones do—they make adjustments throughout the game, pitch by pitch, until they get it together.”
Although Navarro managed one run, Dickey was in control of the Bulldogs lineup all night. He wasn’t afraid to attack the Bulldog hitters with a steady dose of fastballs—which can reach the mid-90s—before resorting to his breaking pitches if he saw they were sitting on the heat.
Of Dickey’s 15 strikeouts, 13 were swinging.
Dickey was named the No. 1 overall junior college prospect in the nation by Perfect Game USA.
After Blinn (4-1) tied the game in the top of the seventh with the assist of a drop third strike, Dickey struck out the side in the bottom half of the frame to close out the victory.
“He wasn’t afraid to attack the strike zone tonight,” McIntyre said. “After the first inning, his fastball command was the best it’s been.”
The Blinn offense had to cap off a rally to ensure Dickey got the victory.
Cullen Jozwiak scored in the top of the seventh on a dropped third strike—one that would have ended the game—and sophomore Cullen Gassaway, who was 1-for-4, laced a single to left field to give Blinn a 2-1 lead.
The rally came after Navarro capitalized on a leadoff double in the fourth inning.
“With a comeback victory like this, it can give a young club some confidence,” McIntyre said. “You win some coming from behind and you never think you’re out of a game.”
Blinn was never out of its contest against New Mexico.
The Bucs put together a three-run second on RBI hits from Jozwiak and Jose Reyes to take a 3-1 lead, then blew the game open with a six-run sixth inning.
Nolan Brown was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, and Gassaway was 2-for-3 with four RBI and a run scored.
Through five games this season, Gassaway has 12 RBI.
Sophomore Shane McCarley threw a complete game for the Bucs. He allowed one run—unearned—on three hits and struck out six.
In 14 innings played today, the Bucs struck out 21 and allowed one earned run on four hits.
“It was a really big day for our kids,” McIntyre said. “But we can’t settle on today, because tomorrow is a big day, too."
SUNDAY
Buccaneers shut out Temple to end Blinn Tournament
Bouts of fatigue might have begun to settle in Sunday for the Blinn baseball team, but the Buccaneers weren’t going to let that affect them from capping off a successful weekend.
Blinn split a doubleheader in the final day of the Blinn Tournament with a 9-5 loss to New Mexico Junior College and a 10-0 win against Temple Junior College.
“We knew going in today it was going to be a gut-check for our guys after a long day yesterday,” Blinn (5-2) coach Harvey McIntyre said. “But they gave us their best effort, and I’m very, very proud with the way they finished.”
After Blinn beat New Mexico in the tournament opener, 10-1, on Saturday, New Mexico put on the hurt offensively.
“They didn’t come here to get swept,” McIntyre said.
New Mexico put up four runs in the first two innings, and after Blinn cut into that lead to make it 4-3, the Thunderbirds responded with a four-run inning to pull away.
New Mexico jumped on Blinn starting pitcher Keith Brenner six hits and five earned runs in 3 2-3 innings.
“I thought Keith pitched well, he just didn’t make enough pitches with two strikes,” McIntyre said.
The Bucs pitching staff kept Temple in check all game. Seth Ballew, who was coming off a rough outing against Frank Phillips College the previous weekend, responded with a four-hit outing against Temple. Ballew struck out nine in six innings.
“Seth really bounced back and pitched very hungry tonight,” McIntyre said. “We got to see what he’s made of tonight.”
The Blinn offense bounced back, too.
Blinn scored at least a run in six innings—including a three-run seventh—and five players had two hits.
Freshmen Stephen Stuart and Cullen Jozwiak were each 2-for-4 with two RBI. James Duval, batting in the two-hole, scored three runs in a 2-for-5 game.
With a 3-1 weekend—including a 2-1 win over fifth-ranked Navarro on Saturday—and a 5-2 overall record, McIntyre is pleased with the way the Bucs have answered a majority of the preseason questions to this point in the season.
“You look at the schedule in the Fall and you think, ‘Man, we’re going to be walking around with a lot of questions or a whole lot of answers.’ We got a lot of answers this weekend. It was really good to see them play the way they did,” he said.
For more information on Blinn baseball, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
(Story & photos courtesy: Matt Keyser, Blinn Information)