BLINN SOFTBALL SPLITS FIRST TWO GAMES ON OPENING DAY
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
The Blinn College softball team began its season with an impressive upset victory before settling for a split of two games on opening day of the Battle on the Bosque on Thursday in Waco, Texas.
The Buccaneers began the day with a 7-3 victory over tournament host and fourth-ranked McLennan Community College before coming up short in an 11-8 loss to No. 6 Odessa to end their day.
“Overall, I was very pleased with our competitive nature today, especially against two teams ranked inside the top 10 nationally,” Blinn head coach Rick Church said. “Today was a good sign of what we're capable of this year.”
In game one, the Bucs backed starting pitcher Brynn Gallamore with 10 hits and plenty of offense as the sophomore earned the complete-game victory. Gallamore allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
“Brynn pitched well in her first outing,” Church said. “Hits were scattered and she got key outs when we needed them.”
McLennan struck first with a run in the second, but Gallamore got things going in her favor in the top of the third. After she led off the inning with a single, back-to-back sacrifice bunts moved her to third before freshman shortstop Brianna Moreno drove her in with a single.
Gallamore helped her own cause once again in the fourth when she singled in sophomore first baseman Daniela Lopez to give the Bucs a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish.
A passed ball in the top of the sixth allowed freshman right fielder Lexis Moss to cross the plate for a 3-1 Blinn cushion.
In the seventh, with the bases loaded, the Bucs tacked on with consecutive runs on back-to-back hit batsmen before a Moss RBI single plated sophomore third baseman Annie Beckendorf to make it 7-1.
The Highlassies got two back in the bottom of the seventh.
Gallamore finished with three hits, and Moss and Moreno had two apiece.
“In both games today, our offense competed well, even when we were playing from behind,” Church added.
In game two, Blinn came out swinging against Odessa and grabbed a quick 2-0 lead.
Sophomore catcher Cadence Wiese drove in freshman left fielder Skylar Flanagan with a sacrifice fly, and sophomore center fielder Halle Scheel stole home for another run.
The Wranglers answered loudly in the bottom of the first frame to the tune of six runs.
The Bucs got two back in the second inning on a Flanagan RBI triple and an RBI single from Scheele, and Blinn and Odessa traded single tallies in the third inning.
In the sixth, the Bucs cut their deficit to 10-8 when Wiese doubled in Flanagan and Beckendorf drove in Wiese on single.
The Wranglers would scrape together an insurance run in the bottom of the inning to close out the scoring.
The Bucs racked up 13 hits, led by a three-hit effort for Flanagan. Both Moreno and Moss once again picked two hits each. Wiese finished with three RBIs.
Freshman starting pitcher Jamison Wlos took the loss for the Bucs.
Three Blinn pitchers allowed just six hits but gave up eight walks, hit two batters, and committed four fielding errors.
“We allowed too many walks, hit two batters, and committed a few too many errors against Odessa,” Church explained, “and that was sort of the story of the game for us because we only allowed six hits. We’ll look to improve on today and get better before we take the field again.”
The Bucs will take a week-long break from play before heading back to Waco for the Highlander Games. Blinn will battle Indian Hills Community College at 11:30 a.m. and Southeastern Community College at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5.