BLINN BASEBALL SWEEPS ALL FOUR GAMES AGAINST JOHN MELVIN

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

A sixth-inning outburst in game one, an offensive onslaught in game two, and spectacular pitching across both ends of the twin bill helped top-ranked Blinn College baseball sweep John Melvin University on Saturday at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.

The Buccaneers picked up 5-1 and 8-4 victories to sweep the doubleheader and the four-game series from the Millers.

"Staying locked in and ready to go in each game during a four-game series can be tough," Blinn head coach Dusty Hart said, "but I thought our guys did a great job of doing what was required of them to win."

Blinn moved to 10-3 on the year and pushed its season-high winning streak to five games.

The Bucs dominated the series against John Melvin, outscoring the visitors 30-6 while their pitching staff racked up 45 strikes and a five-inning no-hitter (thrown by Hayden Morris on Friday).

Blinn never wavered Saturday, even when the opener proved to be a challenge for the Bucs' capable offense.

Blinn sophomore starting pitcher Bennett Fryman and sophomore relief pitcher Hunter Bond combined for six scoreless innings, all of which were needed as John Melvin starter Bryce O'Quinn carried a shutout of his own into the home half of the sixth.

Fryman allowed one hit and three walks to go with seven strikeouts across four innings of work. Bond – who earned the victory – followed with two hits allowed, two strikeouts, and one walk.

"That was a great job from those two guys," Hart said. "With our offense struggling early, for those guys to go out and match zeroes with O'Quinn was crucial for our chances to get the win."

Blinn finally got to O'Quinn in the sixth when sophomore Matt Quintanar kept the inning alive with a two-out single. Freshman Trey Craig then came to the plate and blasted a two-run home run to center field.

Freshmen Drew Britton and Benji Berrera followed with back-to-back singles and sophomore Lane Allen cleared the bases with a three-run shot of his own to make it 5-0.

"It took us a little while to get going, but once we did, we kept that momentum through the second game, which was great to see," Hart added.

Sophomore pitcher Dillon Henson got two outs in the seventh, and freshman Jack Garza came on to punch out the final Millers hitter of the game.

For the game, Blinn totaled eight hits, including two apiece for Quintanar and sophomore Ethan Gonzalez.

The Bucs stepped on the gas pedal early and often in game two, and also got a key pitching performance to help stave off John Melvin.

The Millers got on the board first with a run in the first frame, only for Blinn to answer with three runs of its own in the home half.

A sacrifice fly off the bat of Fryman and a two-run single from Allen gave the Bucs a 3-1 advantage. Quintanar made it 4-1 with an RBI single in the second.

The Millers threatened in the third against Blinn starter Reece Wagner, putting the first four hitters of the inning on base to make it a 4-2 ballgame.

With  the bases loaded and no outs, reliable freshman relief pitcher Cadyn Shaw entered for the Bucs and promptly escaped what could have been a game-changing inning for John Melvin. He induced a run-scoring double play and a ground out to third to limit the damage.

"That was a huge moment for Cadyn, one that never got too big for him," Hart said. "That inning could have gone entirely different for us and changed the outcome of the game, but Cadyn went in there and shut them down."

Following Shaw's clutch performance, Fryman gave his team a bit of insurance with a no-doubt leadoff homer to start Blinn's half of the inning.

Britton followed with a double and came around to score on a wild pitch. 

Britton and Allen smacked consecutive RBI singles in the fourth to make it 8-3.

John Melvin got one back in the seventh.

Sophomore pitcher Paxton Terveen provided two innings of two-hit relief for Blinn in which he struck out four Millers, and freshman Hudson Melaerts closed out the game by striking out five across the final two frames.

The Bucs' lineup pounded out 10 hits, led by a three-hit, three-RBI showing for Allen. Fryman and Britton finished with two hits apiece.

Blinn will play its final non-region series of the season next week when it plays host to Grayson College for a four-game home set. The series opens with a doubleheader at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, at Leroy Dreyer Field.