BUCS OPEN CONFERENCE WITH 9-0 SHUTOUT OF COASTAL BEND

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

The sixth-ranked Blinn College baseball team couldn't have asked for a better start to Region XIV play.

Bennett Fryman worked five scoreless innings for his second win of the season, and six different Buccaneers drove in at least one run as Blinn ran away with a 9-0 run-rule road win over Coastal Bend College in both teams' region opener Thursday in Beeville, Texas."What a great way to start off region play," Bucs head coach Dusty Hart said. "I was really happy with the effort level and the way we played tonight. I'm not sure it gets better than opening region play by throwing a shutout on the mound and ending the game early with a run-rule. The guys were locked in. Now we just need to carry this momentum into Saturday and finish the series on a good note at home."

Blinn (12-4, 1-0 region) cruised behind a big offensive performance, but virtually didn't need it as Fryman dominated the Cougars while improving to 2-0.

The sophomore left-hander allowed four hits and walked four while striking out eight on 91 pitches before giving way to freshman Bryce McCain.

"Bennett had a great night," Hart said. "He fought through a few tough innings and made some really big pitches when he needed to. He competed his tail off."

McCain complimented Fryman's outing with a scoreless effort of his own. He tossed two hitless frames while fanning two and walking none.

At the plate, Blinn racked up nine hits, including two apiece for sophomore leadoff hitter Lane Allen, sophomore Matt Quintanar, and freshman Drew Britton. Allen and sophomore Caden Ferraro drove in two runs apiece. 

In the second inning, the Bucs got all the offense they would need. Freshman Benji Berrera opened the frame with a single and advanced to third on a single from Britton, and sophomore Ethan Gonzalez followed with a sacrifice fly to score Berrera. Sophomore Ryder McDaniel then laid down a sacrifice bunt to push Britton to second base before Allen smacked an RBI single to center field.

Ferraro drove in two runs on a single in the fourth inning, and another run crossed the plate on an error during the same sequence. Quintanar followed with a double that drove in Ferraro and made it 6-0.

The scoring concluded in the sixth when Allen doubled in McDaniel, freshman Brady Sullivan drew a bases loaded walk, and Berrera hit a sacrifice fly.

Blinn and Coastal Bend close out their three-game series with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas. Both games can be heard live on KWHI beginning with the pregame at 1:35pm on 1280AM, 101.7FM, and KWHI.com.