COASTAL BEND UPSETS #9 BLINN BASEBALL IN CONFERENCE OPENER

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

The No. 9 Blinn College baseball team dropped its Region 14 South opener Thursday, falling 7-2 to Coastal Bend College in Beeville, Texas.

With the setback, the Buccaneers moved to 10-6 overall and 0-1 in South play.

Blinn was limited to just three hits on the night — singles from freshman third baseman Ryley Leininger, sophomore infielder Drew Britton, and sophomore utility man Benji Barrera.

The Buccaneers manufactured both of their runs via passed balls, scoring once in the fourth inning and again in the eighth.

Coastal Bend seized control early, plating four runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Cougars added a run in the third and tacked on two more in the seventh.

Freshman starter Trevor Moore (3-1) worked two innings for the Bucs and allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits while striking out four without issuing a walk. Sophomore Dylan Thompson provided five innings of relief and surrendered two unearned runs on two hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Freshman Bo Collingwood turned in a strong outing in the eighth inning, striking out the side in a perfect frame.

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