BLINN SOFTBALL SWEEPS DOUBLEHEADER OVER ANGELINA COLLEGE

The Blinn College softball team picked up a pair of victories with a doubleheader sweep of Angelina College in Region XIV South Zone action Wednesday at Hohlt Park in Brenham, Texas.

The Buccaneers earned a 9-4 win in game one before closing out the day with a 3-2 triumph.

The sweep pushed Blinn’s record to 15-7 overall and 4-2 in the South Zone.

“It was very important for us to get a sweep today,” Blinn head coach Rick Church said. “We did enough to take care of business.”

Prior to the doubleheader, Woodman Life presented a 30 ft. x 60 ft. American flag that was unveiled for the National Anthem.

In the opener, the Bucs opened up a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning and never looked back. Freshman Madison Dorrow got Blinn going with a run-scoring single; Erynne Castillo drew a bases loaded walk to drive in another run; and sophomore Madeline Stephenson reached on catcher’s interference to bring home Dorrow.

The Roadrunners scored two runs off Buccaneer sophomore pitcher Chloee Mason in the third, but the hosts answered with freshman Alayna Calvillo’s RBI triple and an RBI double from sophomore Emily Kristynik to make it 5-2 in the fourth.

Blinn scored two more in the fifth on an Angelina error. After the Roadrunners scored twice in the sixth, sophomore Skylar Shanahan sent a two-run home run over the wall in left field in the home half of the inning to give Blinn its 9-4 edge.

“We had some clutch situations where we came through with some timely hits,” Church said. “And Chloee scattered her eight hits and limited the damage. It was a good game for us.”

The Bucs finished with 10 hits, led by a three-hit game for Shanahan. Kristynik finished with two hits. 

Mason (5-3) tossed a complete game and allowed three earned runs with three strikeouts and no walks. 

In game two, freshman pitcher Peyton Welker allowed two runs in the top of the second inning but settled in to earn her sixth win of the season.

“There were a couple of shaky innings for Peyton in game two, but she finished really strong,” Church said. “A lot of credit goes to Peyton because she finished really tough.”

After the Roadrunners grabbed the 2-0 cushion, Blinn responded in the bottom of the frame when sophomore Michyla Saenz drove in sophomore Caitlyn Stevens with a single. 

Calvillo doubled in the bottom of the fifth, and an error in center field allowed Stephenson to score from first base. Kristynik then gave her team the lead when she plated Calvillo with a sacrifice fly.

“We held our own against a good pitcher,” said Church. “We did a little bit of everything to manufacture three runs and it got the job done for us.”

Blinn totaled nine hits, led by Calvillo and Saenz, who each went 3-for-3.

Welker allowed eight hits across seven frames. She gave up two earned runs with three walks and six punchouts.

The Buccaneers return to action on Saturday as they host LSU-Eunice in a double header beginning at 2pm. KWHI 1280AM and 101.7FM will have live coverage beginning with the pregame at 1:35pm.

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information