BLINN BASEBALL SWEEPS DOUBLEHEADER OVER GALVESTON

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

Regardless of how much baseball is left this season, No. 7 Blinn College knew exactly where it wanted to be when its Region XIV South series against Galveston College concluded.

The Buccaneers got there a little early Saturday.

With the help of its dominant and reliable pitching staff and potent offense, Blinn swept the Whitecaps 10-0 (five innings) and 7-0 in a doubleheader at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas.

The two victories pushed the Bucs to 19-6 overall and 7-2 in the South standings, where they leapfrogged Galveston for first place in the division. With one game left in the weekend series, Blinn is now in sole possession of the top spot as the Whitecaps dropped to 5-3-1.

"We know there's a ton of baseball left to play, but we definitely talked about wanting to be in first place at the end of this series," Bucs head coach Dusty Hart said. "We wanted to put ourselves in a good position today to finish out the sweep Sunday, and now we're in the driver's seat."

From the outset Saturday, Blinn appeared to have little interest in playing second fiddle to Galveston.

Sophomore Brok Eddy, the NJCAA Division I leader in victories, blanked the Whitecaps in a complete-game performance. The right-hander allowed three hits, walked two, and struck out five as he improved to 7-1 on the season and lowered his earned run average to a sparkling 2.18. 

Eddy has found himself in a nice groove as he's allowed just four total runs in his last five starts – all victories. He's won six consecutive starts.

"I've just been attacking the strike zone and trusting my offense and defense," Eddy said. "It's a lot easier to pitch well when you have great players behind you. I'm out here every week and developing a routine, and I think I've just found my midseason form."

As Eddy dominated on the mound, the Bucs took care of business at the plate.

With a sharp wind blowing from left to right field, Blinn's lineup adjusted and racked up eight hits and seven walks while doing all of its damage in the third, fourth, and fifth innings.

A five-run fifth brought the run rule into play. 

"We just needed to dig in our heels and avoid trying to do too much today," said Bucs sophomore Matt Quintanar. "Guys are getting comfortable and we're having great at bats every time we step to the plate."

Quintanar and fellow sophomore Ryder McDaniel had two hits apiece. Quintara doubled and drove in two runs while McDaniel had a triple and an RBI. Sophomore Lane Allen doubled and plated three.

"Our approach today was on point," Hart added. "We hit a lot of line drives and ground balls and drew a lot of walks. The key to the game of baseball, as simple as it sounds, is to get on base. Everybody wants to get a hit and make something happen, but you have to stay disciplined and unselfish, and we're proving that we can do that consistently."

It was more of the same for Blinn in game two as sophomore Bennett Fryman and freshman Cadyn Shaw combined for a two-hitter.

Fryman, who took the mound after starting the opener in left field, didn't have his best stuff but still blanked the Whitecaps across 3 2/3 innings. He gave up two hits, walked four, and fanned three.

The two-way athlete also remained in the Blinn lineup and added two hits, two walks, and an RBI to his own cause.

"Fryman is a guy who has as good of stuff as anybody in the country, unfortunately, he's also a really good hitter, and I think we're relying on him to do a lot," Hart explained. "It's to be expected that he's going to get tired a little earlier than other pitchers, but he still worked his tail off for us."

Shaw, who Hart called "one of our best pitchers," entered with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth and mowed down the Galveston lineup. He struck out the first Whitecap he faced to end the threat and went on to tally six punchouts without allowing a hit or a walk.

"He deserves a start and has earned it, but he also has probably the most important role on our team," Hart said. "Sometimes the save isn't always in the ninth inning; the save for us was coming in with the bases loaded, getting the strikeout, and keeping a zero on the scoreboard. He was a big reason behind the sweep today."

Blinn's hitters totaled 13 hits and produced all of the offense they would need with a four-run third. They tacked on one in the seventh and two in the eighth.

Sophomore Caden Ferraro shined with a 4-for-5, two-RBI performance. Freshman Reece Lunsford doubled and tripled, and freshman Drew Britton added a pair of hits. Sophomore Ethan Gonzalez had a single and drove in two.