BLINN SOFTBALL DROPS DOUBLEHEADER TO #2 MCLENNAN

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

The Blinn College softball team's run at the Battle at the Bosque ended Saturday with a tough doubleheader sweep at the hands of No. 2 McLennan Community College in Waco.

The Highlanders swept the Buccaneers 13-1 (five innings) and 18-12.

Blinn fell to 1-3 on the year.

In the opener, McLennan built a 9-0 lead after two innings before the Bucs got on the board on a sacrifice fly from freshman Cadence Wiese in the top of the third.

The Highlassies answered with four runs in the home half of the inning to close out the scoring.

Sophomore pitcher Bella De Los Santos was tagged with the loss after working two innings. Freshman Brynn Gallamore worked the third and fourth frames for the Bucs.

Game two proved to be a slugfest, with the two squads combining for 17 runs in the first two innings.

Blinn opened the scoring in the first, racing out to a 3-0 lead before McLennan answered with four tallies of its own.

The Bucs then put together their best inning of the day in the second, scoring six runs to take a 9-4 advantage. The big blow in the frame came off the bat of freshman Annie Beckendorf, who mashed a grand slam to left field.

The Highlassies made it 9-8 in their half of the second and tied the game in the third.

In the fourth, the Bucs grabbed their final lead of the matchup on an RBI double from sophomore T'Era Garrett and a run-scoring fielder's choice from freshman Kacie Dudensing that made it 11-9. 

McLennan fought back in the bottom of the inning to take a 12-11 lead before an error in the fifth allowed Blinn to tie the game for the final time.

The Highlassies jumped ahead for good with a five spot in the home half and tacked on the final run of the game in the sixth.

The Bucs finished with nine hits, led by two apiece for Beckendorf, Wiese, and sophomore Darian De Leon. Beckendorf and Wiese had four and three RBIs, respectively.

In the pitcher's circle, Dudensing absorbed the loss in relief.

Up next, Blinn meets another tough challenge in the form of third-ranked Temple College. The two teams face off in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. this Friday, at the Blinn Softball Field at Hohlt Park in Brenham.