BUCS SWEEP SUNDAY DOUBLEHEADER OVER ALVIN

With his ace pitcher on the mend, Blinn College baseball head coach Dusty Hart was eager to see who among the Buccaneers would step up Sunday.

Four pitchers answered the call in a big way.

Freshman Hayden Morris slid into the number one spot in the rotation to open a Region XIV South doubleheader against Alvin Community College with a victory, and freshman pitcher Jack Garza earned a win in his first start of the season on less than one hour's notice to help Blinn to a sweep of the Dolphins in Alvin, Texas.

Fourth-ranked Blinn took the twin bill 3-2 and 7-3 to cap a three-game sweep of Alvin.

The Bucs improved to 27-7 overall and 15-2 in the South.

"We play a 54-game regular season; guys get hurt and guys go down, so it's great to see guys who have their numbers called step up and help us not miss a beat," Hart said. "I think Alvin is as good as anyone else in Region XIV, and they played us tough for three games. We needed all hands on deck this week and we got it."

With sophomore pitcher and team wins leader Brok Eddy sidelined, Morris moved up from his usual spot as Blinn's No. 2 starter to open a doubleheader for the first time this spring. He didn't miss a beat, hurling five innings of two-hit, two-run ball with four walks and four strikeouts. He allowed one earned run and improved to 5-0 while lowering his earned run average to 2.76.

Freshman Bryce McCain picked up his first save of the year with two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out three Dolphins.

Alvin opened the scoring with an unearned run off Morris in the bottom of the first inning, but Blinn responded with solo home runs from sophomores Caden Ferraro and Ryder McDaniel in the third. 

The Dolphins answered with a homer in the bottom of the second.

Blinn took the lead for good in the top of the sixth when freshman Reece Lunsford drew a bases loaded walk.

Both teams finished with four hits apiece.

Garza took the mound to open the finale and improved to 3-0 with four innings of work. He allowed two earned runs on two hits, walked three and fanned four. Freshman Ben Polleschultz also tallied his first save of the season behind a 15-out save. He gave up one earned run, but worked successfully around four hits and a walk with the help of five punchouts.

Polleschultz worked out of a huge jam in the seventh after the Dolphins loaded the bases with one out. He fanned the next hitter he faced before inducing a line out to shortstop to end the threat.

"Huge performances from all of our pitchers today, but I'm super happy for Ben," Hart added. "He was lights out."

Blinn never trailed after opening the scoring in the top of the first inning on a three-run homer from freshman Trey Craig.

Alvin got two back in the home half of the frame.

Bucs sophomores Ethan Gonzalez and Lane Allen opened the fifth inning with back-to-back solo bombs.

In the seventh, McDaniel plated a run on a bases loaded walk and freshman Drew Britton crossed the plate on a wild pitch later in the inning.

The Dolphins capped the scoring on a solo home run in the eighth.

The Bucs racked up 11 hits, including a three-hit ballgame for Craig. Sophomore Bennett Fryman and Gonzalez added two hits apiece.

Up next, Blinn will look to build on its three-game lead in the South when it begins a four-game series against Coastal Bend College at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1, in Beeville, Texas.