BUCS SOFTBALL SPLITS WITH ODESSA

Buccaneers get late run support to beat Odessa in opener of doubleheader, 5-2

Blinn gives up five in first inning of second game and loses to split the doubleheader

BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College softball was able to get much-needed run support late in the opening game of a doubleheader against Odessa College to win 5-2 Saturday afternoon at Hohlt Park.

That momentum did not carry over into the second game as Odessa scored five in the first en route to a 5-3 victory to split the pair of games. With the split, Blinn’s overall record moves to 4-5 on the year.

Blinn 5 – Odessa 2

Kalli Edwards
(Photo: Jake Gordon)

Behind a solid pitching performance from Colleen Bentke and two RBIs from Shelby Achille, Blinn was able to beat Odessa 5-2 to open the doubleheader.

Bentke pitched all seven innings and struck out 10 while only allowing two earned runs in the victory. Achille brought in her two runs with a double and a single. Calli Birch, Amy Alexander and Nicole Garcia all had one RBI in the win.

Blinn was able to get on the board first in the second inning when Katy Sawyer led off with a walk and Abbie Olejniczak came in to pinch run. Birch nailed a double to the fence in center to score Olejniczak for a 1-0 lead. Odessa countered with two runs in the third inning to take a 2-1 lead.

Odessa’s lead didn’t last long as Blinn went to work in the bottom of the third. Achille brought in her first run with a hard-hit single to center to score Garcia to tie the game up at 2-2.

Achille struck again in the fifth inning as she nailed a double to center to score Kalli Edwards to give Blinn a 3-2 lead. Alexander followed two batters later with an RBI single to center for a 4-2 advantage.

The Buccaneers added an insurance run in the sixth as Alyssa Vega reached base after getting hit by a pitch and then Alyssa Hitt came in as a pinch runner. Garcia drove in Hitt with a single in the infield to give Blinn a 5-2 lead that enough run support for Bentke in the three-run victory.

Odessa 5 – Blinn 3

Morgan Gray
(Jake Gordon)

Blinn was unable to keep momentum going in the second game of the doubleheader as Odessa scored all five runs in the first inning and held on for the 5-3 victory to split the doubleheader.

Achille hit a double and a single and drove in a run while Birch had the other RBI with a single. Edwards, Makalah Norman and Garcia each had two singles in the loss. Sam Junkin took the loss in the circle but only two of the five runs scored in the first inning were earned as Junkin shut down Odessa after the bumpy start.

After Odessa scored five runs in the first, Blinn was trying to dig itself out of a hole the entire game. Blinn did get one run back in the bottom of the first when Birch singled in Edwards to get within 5-1 after an inning.

The offense started back up for Blinn in the fifth when Garcia was able to reach on a dropped third strike and later scored after an RBI single by Achille to center for the second run. Edwards, who singled earlier in the inning, later scored on an Odessa error to get within 5-3. Unfortunately, that would be the final run scored in the two-run Blinn loss.

Blinn will play in the San Jacinto College Softball Tournament starting on Friday, Feb. 10 with three games. Blinn will open against Temple College at noon, then play Murray State College at 2:30 p.m. and close the day against Hill College at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

(Story & Photos courtesy, Jake Gordon, Blinn College)

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