Buccaneers stage late comeback to beat Baton Rouge, 11-9

Blinn College needed five runs in the seventh to extend the game

BAYTOWN, Texas – Staring down its first loss of the year, Blinn College baseball staged a comeback with five runs in the seventh to extend the game and then two runs in the ninth to pull out an 11-9 victory over Baton Rouge Community College Feb. 6 in Baytown.

“There was a lot of things that we didn’t do well,” said Blinn coach Harvey McIntyre. “But that is how you want your players to respond when they are down and I was very proud of them.”

Clayton Auippa hit a double in the ninth to put Blinn ahead by one run and then Reed Robinson scored on a wild pitch for an insurance run to help Blinn get the victory.

Auippa was solid all game for the Buccaneers with a pair of hits and knocking in two runs, including a double while Patrick King also recorded two hits in the come from behind victory. Blinn was outhit by Baton Rouge 12-7 overall but the Buccaneers got the important hits when they needed them. Nick Masarik pitched the final three innings to pick up the victory on the mound.

Blinn started off the game strong when King singled and then scored the first run on an error. Stephen Stuart walked in the opening inning and then came around to score to give the Buccaneers a 2-0 lead.

The Buccaneers widened their lead in the third when Hunter Lehman hit a sacrifice fly to score one and then Ben Upton later scored on a passed ball for a 4-0 lead.

Blinn ran into trouble when Baton Rouge scored six runs in the bottom of the third, one in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 9-4 lead heading into the final inning.

In its last chance to keep the game alive in the seventh, Blinn loaded the bases without an out and Upton scored on a fielder’s choice to get within 9-5. The Buccaneers got within three runs after Cullen Jozwiak scored on a Baton Rouge error.

Baton Rouge had a hard time finding the strike zone as Stephen Stuart and Lehman both scored on bases loaded walks and Conner Smith scored on a passed ball to knot the game at 9-9.

After coming back in the seventh, Blinn had the momentum and sealed the victory with two runs in the ninth to improve the season record to 4-0.

Blinn will play in the San Jacinto Tournament Feb. 7, starting with a game against Louisiana State University Eunice at 9 a.m. in Houston.

Story Courtesy of:
Jake Gordon
Blinn Communications & Sports Information Specialist