WILKINS GRAND SLAM GIVES BUCS 7-5 WIN

No. 18 Blinn College softball was staring at the possibility of a sweep and trailing Galveston College by two games in the standings but Jordin Wilkins stepped up with a grand slam in the second game of the doubleheader to give the Buccaneers a 7-5 victory Saturday afternoon at Hohlt Park in Brenham.

"When you do it together it is much easier," said Blinn head coach Rick Church. "Before it looked like every person was going up to bat with all the burden on their shoulders but then we were able to string some hits together and did it as a team."

Galveston did claim the opening game 3-2 to split the doubleheader as the Blinn record moves to 22-13 overall and 7-1 in Region XIV play. Galveston and Blinn are now tied at 7-1 in the South Zone Division.

Galveston 3 – Blinn 2

Blinn had plenty of opportunities for offense in the opening game but left seven on base and fell to Galveston 3-2 to open the doubleheader.

Lauren Silver had a solid game at the plate with a solo home run and a single while Courtney Whitealso knocked in one run with a single and added another single for a two-hit game.

Bobbi Berkey got the start for the Buccaneers and pitched 4 2-3 innings giving up two runs on two hits but Galveston took advantage of early walks and was aggressive on the base paths. Faith Genoway came on in the fifth and finished off the game and pitched well but did give up a home run in the seventh that proved to be the difference.

Blinn did start the game off fast when Nicole Garcia walked to get on base and was brought in with a two-out single from White to right to give the Buccaneers a 1-0 lead. Galveston took a 2-1 lead with single runs in the second and third.

It only took one swing to tie the game for Blinn as Silver nailed a home run just inside the foul pole in left to level the score at 2-2. Galveston did get the last say with a solo shot in the seventh that proved to be the game-winner.

Blinn 7 – Galveston 5

The second game of the doubleheader didn't look to good for Blinn as it trailed 5-0 in the fourth but the Buccaneers were able to forge a comeback with the help of the grand slam from Wilkins that ended up being the game-winning hit in a 7-5 victory.

The grand slam from Wilkins was the only hit for the Blinn infielder of the day but it came at the right moment for the Buccaneers.

"I was just seeing that ball really well and I just told myself that I am going to score during this at-bat," Wilkins said. "I just hit the ball really well and I knew that it was going over the fence as soon as it left my bat."

Cheyenne Trader was steady with the bat in the game by hitting three singles in the win. Katie Andrie helped the Blinn comeback with an RBI single, her second single of the game, that came right before the Wilkins grand slam.

"I really just wanted to hit for my team and hit for my pitcher," Trader said. "We all just started hitting together and it was fun in the dugout when we were hitting the ball well."

Sam Junkin picked up the win in the circle by giving up five runs in seven innings on 10 hits and striking out four.

Galveston picked up where it left off in the first game by building a 5-0 lead with two runs in the second and third and a single run in the fourth. Blinn did show signs of life in the fifth inning when Garcia and Meghann Wrinkle each hit a one-out single and both scored on a dropped fly ball to get within 5-2 of Galveston.

The Buccaneers went for the lead in the sixth when Ashley Langston and Kalli Edwards singled and Garcia reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. With two outs, Andrie nailed a single to left to get within 5-3 for Blinn and then Wilkins followed by belting a grand slam to right-center to give the Buccaneers their first lead of the game at 7-5. Junkin shut down Galveston in the seventh to preserve the victory.

Blinn will be at home again on Tuesday, March 22 for a doubleheader against Lamar State College – Port Arthur starting at 2 p.m.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 32 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visitwww.buccaneersports.com.