NO. 4 BLINN BASEBALL SPLITS REGION XIV SOUTH TWIN BILL WITH WHARTON COUNTY

The Buccaneers will conclude their regular season with a four-game South set against Alvin

Fourth-ranked Blinn College baseball split a Region XIV South doubleheader with Wharton County Junior College on Friday in Wharton, Texas.

The Buccaneers ended their season series with the Pioneers with a 14-0 (five innings) victory and a 3-2 setback. Blinn took two of three from Wharton County this week and finished 6-1 against its region rival.

“That's a good team we face today and playing on the road is always difficult,” Bucs head coach Dusty Hart said. “At the end of the day, we did not deserve to win the second game. We didn't make pitches, we didn't get big hits, and we definitely didn't play good defense. In close games on the road, the small mistakes can cost you. Give credit to Wharton for doing what they needed to do to earn the split.”

Blinn got started on the right foot with an offensive eruption and a masterful pitching performance from sophomore starter Brok Eddy.

Eddy improved to 9-2 on the season and lowered his already-nifty earned run average to 1.88 after spinning a one-hit complete game. He walked one and struck out seven, and just missed out on his second no-hitter of the season after the Pioneers opened the bottom of the fifth inning with a double.

Eddy was backed by two crooked numbers posted by the Bucs’ lineup. 

In the top of the third, Blinn surged ahead with a five-run onslaught and tacked on nine more in the top of the fifth.

The Bucs racked up 10 hits and eight walks.

Sophomore Bennett Fryman and freshman Trey Craig led Blinn with two hits apiece. 

Sophomore Lane Allen laced a grand slam to center field in the fifth, followed by a double for Fryman and a two-run homer for Craig.

Sophomore Ethan Gonzalez also doubled for Blinn.

Allen had a team-best four RBIs, Craig and freshman Drew Britton each plated a pair, and Fryman, Gonzalez, and sophomores Caden Ferraro and Ryder McDaniel drove in one apiece.

Eight of the Bucs’ nine hitters finished with at least one hit. 

Blinn received another stellar pitching performance in the finale, but the Bucs were unable to replicate their offensive success as Wharton rallied late for the split.

Freshman Hayden Morris took the bump in game two and gave Blinn six innings of stellar work. He allowed two unearned runs on three hits with a pair of walks and seven punchouts. 

Freshman Hudson Melaerts took the loss after allowing one earned run on two walks while fanning one in 1 1/3 innings. Sophomore Hunter Bond got two outs in the eighth. 

A Bucs defensive error in the second led to a 2-0 lead for Wharton County, and the score remained that way until the seventh. Gonzalez put Blinn on the board with a solo homer.

In the top of the eighth, Britton tied the game on an RBI groundout.

A passed ball allowed the Pioneers to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth.

Gonzalez and sophomore Matt Quintanar paced Blinn’s six-hit attack with two hits apiece.

Blinn will begin its final regular-season and South series of the year when it opens a four-game set with Alvin Community College at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 28, at Leroy Dreyer Field in Brenham, Texas. With four games remaining, the first-place Bucs hold a two-game lead over second-place San Jacinto College-North in the South standings. 

Story Courtesy of:
Joe Alberico   
Sports Information Specialist