BLINN BUCCANEERS RE-TAKE FIRST AFTER 3-1 WIN OVER WHARTON

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

The 14th-ranked Blinn College baseball team knows its chances of claiming the Region XIV South crown rely on two things: Winning ballgames and San Jacinto College-North doing the exact opposite.

The Buccaneers got a double dose of good fortune Thursday.

Blinn pieced together a 3-1 region road win over Wharton County Junior College and regained first place in the South thanks to San Jacinto-North's setback of the same score to Galveston College.

"Yes sir," Blinn head coach Dusty Hart said enthusiastically. "We have to take care of our end of things, but some help on the other side doesn't hurt either."

With six regular-season games remaining, the Bucs are looking to repeat as Region XIV South champions for the first time in program history. They now hold a one-game lead over the Ravens for first place and should they hang on to the top spot, they would host the Region XIV South Regional tournament for a second consecutive year.

Blinn bolstered its chances with a workmanlike effort against Wharton County. 

Freshman pitcher Cade Marcum tossed two-hit ball into the sixth inning before sophomore Jake Kolkhorst earned his fourth save after recording the final 11 outs of the game.

"It was another really good outing for Caden," Hart said. "It was tough for the offenses to score today because of the wind blowing in, so he had to minimize walks and keep runners off base and he did a really good job of that."

Marcum walked three Pioneers and fanned seven. He earned his third win in as many starts.

"He's seizing the moment and making the most of his opportunities," Hart added.

Kolkhorst allowed an unearned run on a pair of hits and two walks to go with three punchouts.

Blinn got on the board in the top of the fourth inning after freshman Caden Ferraro led off with a double and scored on a one-out two-bagger from sophomore Brandon Bishop.

Sophomore Cade Climie doubled to open the eighth frame. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an error. Sophomore Marshall Lipsey reached on the defensive miscue, advanced to third on a Bishop single and crossed the plate on an RBI single from sophomore Coy DeFury.

"We bunted, we did some hit and run, and we stole some bases," Hart said. "We showed how capable we are as an offense. Sometimes when you hit a lot of home runs, days like today can be hard on an offense, but you have to be versatile enough to score when the weather isn't conducive to power hitting and we showed today that we can be."

The Pioneers got one run back in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly.

Of the Bucs' 11 hits, Bishop, DeFury, Ferraro, and sophomores Tanner Reaves and Connor McGinnis each had two.

Blinn and Wharton County conclude their three-game series with a twin bill beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham.